Tag - Lnux

Small-cap stocks pushed modestly higher on the opening, and were still holding in positive territory after a dreadful manufacturing report slashed away gains in large-cap index products. Today’s small-cap gainers are Ultrapetrol Limited (Nasdaq:ULTR), Seneca Foods Corp. (Nasdaq:SENEA) and Orion Marine Group Inc. (NYSE:OMGI).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Now that ISM is out of the way, focus will return to debate about the U.S. elections. Since 1900, the stock market has averaged a gain of nearly 10% in the 12 months following a Democrat transition into the White House.  
• The ISM Manufacturing Survey came in at 38.9%, which was below the forecast of 42% and marked the lowest manufacturing activity index in 26 years.  
• Small-cap stocks pushed modestly higher on the opening, and were still holding in positive territory after a dreadful manufacturing report slashed away gains in large-cap index products.
• The ISM figure is expected to come in at 42%, well below the 50% line that indicates contraction.  
• Heavy week for economic data risk: things kick off at 10:00 a.m. ET today with the ISM Manufacturing Survey and finish with a flourish Friday morning with the big employment report.  

Small Cap Gainers:

• Ultrapetrol Limited is up almost 50% in pre-market ahead of its Q3 earnings release next week. See (Nasdaq:ULTR).
• Seneca Foods Corp. is up 25%, gapping higher on light volume. See (Nasdaq:SENEA).  
• Orion Marine Group Inc. jumped 24.9%. See (Nasdaq:OMGI).  
• Safe Bulkers Inc. is up 12.8%, climbing above the 20-day moving average for the first time since early September. See (NYSE:SB).  
• SourceForge gaining 8.5% in pre-market, guides in line, sets stock buyback. See (Nasdaq:LNUX).


Small Cap Losers:

• AtriCure Inc. is tumbling 43% on news that the firm is under investigation by the Department of Justice for potential false claims on the company’s surgical devices. See (Nasdaq:ATRC).  
• Ness Technologies profit rises 121%; shares down 5% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:NSTC).  
• Phoenix Companies down 12% as it slips to a loss in Q3. See (NYSE:PNX).  
• GMAC's bonds tumble after plan to exchange debt, shares dive over 10%. See (NYSE:GMA).  

After a recent high-profile buyout announcement in the same sector, it may be time to kick the tires of long-time underperformer, but cash rich small cap SourceForge, Inc. (Nasdaq:LNUX).

In mid-May, online tech news and information provider CNET Networks Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET) agreed to be acquired by CBS Corp. (NYSE:CBS) for $1.8 billion. The price paid for CNET represented a hefty 45% premium over its stock price the day before the deal was announced. The CBS take-out of CNET followed months of pressure by a group of CNET shareholders to sell the large, but struggling, company. The CNET announcement could place pressure on the remaining, small publicly held Internet media companies to find merger partners.

One such name is $92 million SourceForge. Formerly known as VA Software Corporation, SourceForge changed to its new corporate name last year after the sale of its software business to CollabNet. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s remaining operations include its namesake SourceForge.net website, which hosts more than 170,000 open source software projects. SourceForge also runs IT community and news-focused websites Slashdot.org, Linux.com, FreshMeat.net, ITManagersJournal.com and NewsForge.com. SourceForge also operates a niche e-commerce operation called ThinkGeek.com. All told, SourceForge claims that its network of websites reaches 32 million unique visitors each month. 
 
While SourceForge has a strong position in a valuable segment of the online media space, serving technology professionals and enthusiasts, it has been unable to translate this position into sustained profits. SourceForge management has attracted a reputation in recent years for unfulfilled promises and missed guidance. After SourceForge reported another quarter of disappointing results at the end of May, Trivium Capital, the company’s second-largest shareholder, called on SourceForge to either seek strategic alternatives or announce a significant stock buyback. Trivium pointed out that SourceForge, as of the most recent quarter, was sitting on a cash position of $0.82 a share with “possibly” another $0.10 a share in value from its stake in CollabNet. On Monday, SourceForge established a new 52-week low . . .

Small-cap shares pushed higher, lifted by a sudden reversal in crude oil prices, which took the market back down below $130 dollars a barrel after reaching $133 overnight. The stock market navigated through consumer confidence and new home sales data this morning without too much damage, even though neither report was particularly rosy. At 10:08 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 9.51, or 1.31% at 733.61.

The consumer confidence headline figure came in at 57.2, which was below the forecast of 60.0 and tumbled to a 16-year low. New home sales came in at an annualized rate of 526,000 units, which was slightly above the projection for 520,000. Although new home sales were up 3.3% in April, they were still down 42% from last year, which marked the largest year-over-year decline in about 27 years, according to the Commerce Department.

Before the new home sales figures came out, the Case-Shiller U.S. home price index reported a dive in first quarter home sale prices, which tumbled 14.1% from the same period last year. The figures were in line with analyst expectations.

SourceForge, Inc. (Nasdaq: LNUX), an owner and operator of a network of media websites, said that it named Jonathan Sobel as the company’s group president of media.

Mr. Sobel will oversee SourceForge’s network of media properties, including Slashdot, SourceForge.net, Linux.com, NewsForge, ITManagersJournal and freshmeat.net websites.

Mr. Sobel formerly worked for CBS Corp., where he served as senior vice president of strategy and business development for CBS Interactive Media. At CBS, Sobel played an integral role in developing CBS' Internet strategy, and structuring and negotiating many of CBS' most significant online deals, including relationships with Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Amazon.

Shares of SourceForge (LNUX) were halted in pre-market trading.

Shares of Hurray! Holding Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: HRAY) are rising on news after Thursday’s close that the Chinese provider of music and music-related products reported an increase in profit.  The net income for the first quarter ended March 31 was $1.0 million, a rise of 3.8% compared with $0.9 million for the first quarter of 2006.  Earnings stayed constant at $0.04 per share, just above analyst expectations of $0.03 per share.  The stock is up $0.02, or 0.41%, to $4.85.

Shares of Lancaster, Pa.-based Sterling Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: SLFI) announced after Thursday’s close that an ongoing investigation has shown that previously reported irregularities in certain financing contracts in one of Sterling’s financial services affiliates are a direct result of collusion by company employees.  Shares have added $0.80, or 5%, to $16.16.

The following small-cap companies were making news in after-hours trading Thursday:

Peerless Systems Corporation (Nasdaq: PRLS) reported a net loss for the first quarter ended April 30 of $0.8 million, or $0.05 per basic share, compared with one analyst's estimate for a loss of $0.01. In last year's first quarter, the company had net income of $2.0 million, or $0.11 per diluted share. The El Segundo-based technology provider said revenue was $4.7 million, compared with the analyst's estimate for $7.1 million and with $8.8 million in the first quarter of 2006. In a release, management said it was holding to previous forecasts for results over the rest of the year. Shares of Peerless were down $0.38, or 13%, at $2.88. 

Mountain View, Calif.-based Ditech Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: DITC) said revenues for the fourth quarter ended April 30 were $19.2 million, down from $20.0 million in the same quarter the previous year and below analysts' expectations for $20.8 million. Diluted net income per share was $0.02, compared to expectations for $0.07 and to $0.07 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Shares of the supplier of voice processing equipment were lower after hours, trading at $8.00, down down $0.37, or 4.4%.

Verigy LTD (Nasdaq: VRGY) exceeded its guidance for revenue in the second quarter ended April 30, and shares were sharply higher in after hours trading. The Cupertino, Calif.-based semiconductor test company said revenues were $183 million, up 11% from the prior quarter and above analysts' expectations for $176.23 million. In the second quarter of fiscal 2006, revenues were $192 million. Net income for the quarter was approximately $0.36 per diluted share, matching expectations for $0.36 and ahead of the $0.22 per share in the prior quarter. The company lost $0.22 per share in the same quarter the previous year. Verigy was 10% higher in after-hours trading, up $2.49 at $27.12.