Tag - Jbss

Exelixis Inc. (Nasdaq:EXEL), Perry Ellis International Inc. (Nasdaq:PERY) and Brown Shoe Company Inc. (Nasdaq:BWS) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Diamond Foods Inc. (Nasdaq:DMND), Geokinetics Inc. (Nasdaq:GOK), Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:TYPE), Calavo Growers Inc. (Nasdaq:CVGW), John B  San Filippo & Son (Nasdaq:JBSS) and W&T Offshore Inc. (Nasdaq:WTI).

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) eked out a green close today, but still lagged the Dow and S&P 500. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were InterMune (Nasdaq:ITMN), John B. Sanfilippo & Son (Nasdaq:JBSS) and Central European Distribution Corp. (Nasdaq:CEDC).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The pending home sales report rose 6.3%, better than expected (the forecast was flat) and helped spark a recovery bounce in equities.
• Homebuilder stocks seemed to get a lift from the pending home sales number, with the ISE Homebuilder Index rising 5.2%.
• Motorcycle manufacturers were a top performer today, but the large automakers were in retreat mode as they release sales numbers today.
• Personal products companies, steel stocks, coal firms and general merchandise stores were all doing well today.
• Poor performers were regional banks, diverse financial services firms, consumer finance companies, diversified banks, casinos and REITs.
• For the year, the Russell is down 9.3%, while the Dow is off 7.9% and the S&P 500 is down 7.1%.
• Energy shares outpaced the overall market rise today, helped along by a modest 1.7% advance in crude oil futures, which gained $0.70 a barrel to $40.78.
• Crude prices were underpinned by talk of additional production cuts out of OPEC and some worries about possible refinery worker strikes. 
• On Wed. the market will get an early glimpse at private jobs numbers, . . .

InterMune Inc. (Nasdaq:ITMN), DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS) and John B  San Filippo & Son (Nasdaq:JBSS) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Intersections Inc. (Nasdaq:INTX), HSN Inc. (Nasdaq:HSNI), M I Homes Inc. (Nasdaq:MHO), Celldex Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:CLDX), Tessera Technologies (Nasdaq:TSRA) and Infinera Corp. (Nasdaq:INFN).

Small-cap stocks opened higher, but stalled quickly as bargain hunters were on the buy side trying to balance a mixed bag of corporate profit reports, worries about the stimulus package progress and valuation levels on the indices that have are seen as attractive in many corners. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Sonesta International Hotels Corp.  (Nasdaq:SNSTA), John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc. (Nasdaq:JBSS) and Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE:TDG).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Treasury markets clearly extended morning declines after the pending home sales report, which suggests money flow out of debt markets and potentially into stocks.  
• The pending home sales report rose 6.3%, better than expected (the forecast was flat) and helped spark a recovery bounce in equities.  
• Crude oil prices were higher in choppy trade ahead of the open; energy markets appear to be on steady footing coming into today’s session.  
• Pending home sales data comes out at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• Carmakers will release sales figures today, which could move stocks not just for automakers, but also for the general market.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Sonesta International Hotels Corp. jumped 30%, but volume on the move was limited. See (Nasdaq:SNSTA).  
• John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc. rose 26% as the nut snack maker got an earnings-related lift. See (Nasdaq:JBSS).  
• Transdigm Group Inc. rallied nearly 13% as the aircraft component designer was another firm reporting solid results. See (NYSE:TDG).  
• OSI Pharmaceuticals rises over 11% in pre-market after the company and Genentech say its drug’s benefits ended their lung cancer trial early. See (Nasdaq:OSIP).

Small Cap Losers:

• The Pantry Inc. fell 13% as the convenience chain store operator was on the negative side of the earnings response. See (Nasdaq:PTRY).  
• SanDisk sharply lower in pre-market following quarterly results. See (Nasdaq:SNDK).  
• Human Genome Sciences begins delivery of first-in-class Anthrax; shares dip slightly in pre-market on light volume. See (Nasdaq:HGSI).

Small-cap stocks opened higher, but stalled quickly as bargain hunters were on the buy side trying to balance a mixed bag of corporate profit reports, worries about the stimulus package progress and valuation levels on the indices that have are seen as attractive in many corners. At 10:04 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 1.62, or 0.36%, at 447.99.

The pending home sales report rose 6.3%, which was better than expected (the forecast was flat) and helped spark a little recovery bounce in equities. At the same time that the pending home sales report came out, the Federal Reserve said that they would extend liquidity provisions for various lending programs, which also was a supportive element in play. Treasury markets clearly extended morning declines after the pending home sales report, which suggests money flow out of debt markets and potentially into stocks.

Traders also will be watching vehicle sales report out of the major automakers throughout the session, for a glimpse not only of how bad things are on the car front, but also on the overall consumer spending psyche.

Lawmakers are slated to start debate today on the Obama stimulus plan, one that went through the House without any Republican support, but which faces a sterner test in the Senate without getting some Republican converts.

Individual small caps on the move this morning included InterMune Inc. (Nasdaq:ITMN), which gapped higher and jumped 31% as the firm’s lung drug met its trial goal. Sonesta International Hotels Corp. (Nasdaq:SNSTA) jumped 30%, but volume on the move was limited. John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc. (Nasdaq:JBSS) rose 26% as the nut snack maker got an earnings-related lift. Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE:TDG) rallied nearly 13% as the aircraft component designer was another firm reporting solid results. On the downside, The Pantry Inc. (Nasdaq:PTRY) fell 13% as the convenience chain store operator was on the negative side of the . . .

Small-cap stocks resumed the downdraft Wednesday morning, pulled down by lingering worries about the health of the financial system and a bleak report on the U.S. housing market. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 12.51, or 1.76%, at 698.14.

Housing starts in August tumbled to a rate of 895,000 units, which was well below the forecast of 950,000 and represented the weakest level in more than 17 years. Single-family home sales were off 1.9% to 630,000 units, also the lowest level since 1991, and even permits for new homes were at 17-year lows. The market was already in retreat mode ahead of the data, but certainly didn’t find any ray of sunshine in the latest look at the housing market.

Even before this morning’s housing report came out, the market was in a selling mood, as investors fretted about the never-ending credit crunch and where the next ax would fall. The government bailout of American International Group (NYSE:AIG) might have been a welcome sign fueling Tuesday’s recovery bounce, but the news seemed to have a fairly short bullish shelf life. Arguments on the bearish side of things center around the fact that if the government had to produce the bailout then it wasn’t that attractive of a safety move and also on to concerns that regulators clearly won’t be able step in to and rescue every firm that is listing toward default amid a mountain of bad debt write downs and other failed investment strategies.

Investors were once again nervous about taking on equity risk and money was clearly flowing back into credit instruments. The interest rate on benchmark 10-year notes tumbled 0.64% and bond yields were off 1.40% as money moved into . . .

Isramco Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRL), Silicon Graphics Inc. (Nasdaq:SGIC) and Targanta Therapeutics Corp. (Nasdaq:TARG) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: John B  San Filippo & Son (Nasdaq:JBSS), OmniVision Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:OVTI), NuStar GP Holdings LLC. (Nasdaq:NSH), Nashua Corp. (Nasdaq:NSHA), MAKO Surgical Corp. (Nasdaq:MAKO) and NewBridge Bancorp (Nasdaq:NBBC).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (Nasdaq: JBSS) CEO Jeffrey Sanfilippo said the processor of tree nuts and peanuts’ business initiatives are paying off. In the second quarter, which ended Dec. 27, the company closed two Chicago-based facilities and cut its workforce. The chief executive made the comments during a morning conference call.

“The second quarter results are significant,” Sanfilippo said. “The company has made difficult but necessary changes to our business model and we will continue to execute our strategies to improve our financial performance and provide improved products and services to our valued customers.”

In an effort to improve profit margins, the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based business also eliminated about 1,200 items from its product offerings.

“Items were evaluated based on sales volume, order frequency and profitability,” Sanfilippo said.

CFO Mike Valentine said the nuts processor ended its store-door distribution program, due to profitability problems.

Shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (Nasdaq: JBSS) are rising following news before the start of trading that the marketer of tree nuts and peanuts reported a narrower fiscal first-quarter loss.

The Elgin, Ill.-based company announced that its net loss for the first three months of fiscal 2008 was $3.5 million, or $0.33 per share, compared with a loss of $4.8 million, or $0.46 per share, during the first quarter of fiscal 2007.

Revenue declined $1 million, or 0.7%, to $132.8 million, compared with revenues of $133.8 million a year earlier.

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, which processes, packages and distributes shelled and in-shell nuts sold under a number of private labels, attributed the decline in net sales to a decrease in sales of walnuts and almonds as the company made changes to its distribution channels.

“Our gross profit margins improved as a result of our various profitability enhancement efforts, which resulted in improved alignment of our commodity costs with our prices,” said CEO Jeffery Sanfilippo in a statement.

The gross profit margin increased to 8.8% of net sales from 4.3% a year earlier. The company managed to improve its profit margins across all distribution channels compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2007.

At 1:39 p.m. ET, shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son (JBSS) had advanced $0.73, or 9%, to $9.08. That’s still far from the 52-week high of $16.19, which was reached on Feb. 2. The 52-week low of $6.73 was set on Sept. 24.

John B Sanfilippo & Son Inc. (Nasdaq:JBSS), Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE) and Universal Security Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:UUU) were among the new 52-week lows established Monday among companies with market capitalizations or values under $500 million.

Here are today's 52-week small-cap lows:

These are the biggest percentage losers among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The Russell 2000 index is declining along with the other major U.S. indices, as investors continue to consolidate their gains.  Among specific small cap companies, shares of Orckit Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: ORCT) are down on news of a quarterly loss, while Answers Corp. (Nasdaq: ANSW) announced it will not be profitable in the second quarter of 2007.

At 11:31 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had shed 6.99 points, or 0.84 percent, to 824.28.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 53.72 points, or 0.40 percent, to 13,259.25.