Tag - Jdsu

Small-cap stocks stormed out of the gate with a flourish this morning, as buyers were enamored with yet another rally in overseas markets and happy that a sobering GDP report in the United States wasn’t even worse. Today’s small-cap gainers are LHC Group (Nasdaq:LHCG), Freightcar (Nasdaq:RAIL) and BioMimetic Therapeutics (Nasdaq:BMTI).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Norway also joined in on the rate cut fervor as countries around the world toss cheap money at businesses in a drive to thaw frozen credit lines.  
• Hong Kong shot up some 10% and Taiwan was up 6%, as those countries announced rate cuts following the Fed’s rate cut Thursday.  
• Stock markets around the world were in rally mode overnight, with the world stock index up 2.5%, powered by steep gains in some Asian markets.
• Crude oil futures trimmed overnight gains and were hovering near steady levels on the stock market opening.  
• The energy sector should be a focal point today following Exxon Mobil Corp.’s quarterly earnings figure, which topped the forecast.

Small Cap Gainers:

• LHC Group shares jumped 29% as the home nursing services provider reported a quarterly increase in revenue. See (Nasdaq:LHCG).  
• Freightcar reported robust third-quarter results that crushed analysts’ estimates. Results were owed to cost controls. Shares up 27%. See (Nasdaq:RAIL).  
• BioMimetic Therapeutics reports promising clinical results using injectable bone graft. Shares up over 27%. See (Nasdaq:BMTI).
• Brush Engineered Materials Inc. got an earnings lift this morning, climbing 13%. See (NYSE:BW).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Polypore International beats on Q3 results, guides full year revenues below the Street, EPS straddle consensus. See (NYSE:PPO).  
• Iris International Q3 results miss Street, guides full year below consensus. See (Nasdaq:IRIS).  
• JDS Uniphase Q1 EPS beat Street: $0.11 vs. $0.09. On GAAP basis, narrows loss. (Nasdaq:JDSU).  
• Brocade and Foundry Networks to amend merger terms: Foundry's shareholders to receive $16.50 in cash for each share. See (Nasdaq:FDRY).  

JDS Uniphase Corp. (Nasdaq:JDSU), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:SOLF) and Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ) are among the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE), Hercules Offshore Inc. (Nasdaq:HERO), Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:HA), Bruker Corp. (Nasdaq:BRKR), Silver Standard Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:SSRI) and American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq:AGNC).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

When people in China talk to each other, they use cell phones—a lot. According to the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry (MII), 487 million people were using mobile phones by April of this year, 100 million more than the number of people using fixed lines. The market is growing by 60 million new subscribers a year; 20% of owners replace their phones each year.

That has given a huge boost to Comtech Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: COGO), a Shenzen-based electronics module supplier to cell phone makers and other Chinese electronic equipment makers. In the second quarter, the company’s pro-forma net income was up 53% from a year earlier to $6.06 million, on revenues up 22% to $50.6 million.

As a result, the company’s stock has been hotter than Fergie ringtone downloads in the last couple months. From a 52-week low of $13.45 in early August, it hit a high of $21.85 on Oct. 11. The market cap of this company is now pushing the definition of “small,” having recently risen to just over $800 million.

Six out of seven analysts following the company have “buy” recommendations. One reason for continued optimism is that in 2008, China plans to begin rolling out a 3rd-generation wireless system and Comtech has been developing modules to feed the appetite of this fast, internet-enabled system. A May report by Roth Capital Partners notes that the company is “well-positioned to benefit from China’s 3G rollout and continued strength in China’s core electronics markets.”

A word of caution: do not confuse Comtech Group with U.S.-based Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (Nasdaq: CMTL). Google searches on Comtech Group bring up news of multi-million dollar deals signed by Comtech Telecomm. Despite similar names and markets, the companies are not related.

If you think back to the glory days of investing (circa 1999), you'll remember how investors morphed their philosophy to fit their dreams of infinite Internet riches.

If your memory fails, here's a refresher: In the early stages of Internet mania, retail merchants like Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) took to orbit. When they free-fell back to earth, backbone providers like Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) and JDS Uniphase Corporation (Nasdaq: JDSU) were launched. When they fizzed, energy companies (which were painted as  “Internet” plays, because—as the logic of the day went—they powered the whole system) where ignited. 

In short, investors stepped back from each successive layer of Internet exposure as the risks of each layer became obviously apparent. 

Circuitous as the logic appeared, it was grounded (somewhat) in rationality. Risk-adverse investors want to avoid risk when confronted with it. The risk usually manifests first in front-line companies. 

In today's market, investors are stepping back from the front-lines of housing.  Indeed, price movement suggests investors are more willing to invest in the sector through home improvement centers like Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) than through homebuilders like Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) and Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: HOV). 

Investors with even less risk tolerance, but still desiring housing exposure, are stepping back further to the less-roiled environs of title insurance providers—the folks who ascertain the property's ownership and indebtedness status.

One company on these back lines that has maintained a semblance of balance is Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC), one of the nation's largest title insurance groups, with a national market share of 11.8%.  Over the past year, its share price has fluttered between $34 and $44 a share (currently fluttering around $36), which compares favorably to the homebuilders, many of whom have seen their share prices plummet by 50% to 70%.

The Russell 2000 and the other major U.S. indices are seesawing on both sides of Wednesday’s closing levels this morning. At 11:19 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was up 0.32 points, or 0.04%, to 836.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 14.39 points, or 0.11%, to 13,503.81.

Shares of NovaMed Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVA) are sagging following news the provider of healthcare services intends to offer $52.5 million worth of senior notes due 2012. As part of the offer, underwriter Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. will be given the option purchase up to $7.5 million additional notes, the Chicago-based company said after Wednesday’s close. NovaMed said it will use part of the proceeds to repay its debt.