Tag - Mso

Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:TRBN), Echelon Corp. (Nasdaq:ELON) and Stewardship Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:SSFN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:PARD), Aruba Networks Inc. (Nasdaq:ARUN), OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:OGXI), OmniVision Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:OVTI), Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (Nasdaq:MSO) and Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (Nasdaq:SVA).

Charlotte Russe Holding Inc (Nasdaq:CHIC), Electro-Optical Sciences Inc (Nasdaq:MELA) and Saga Communications Inc (Nasdaq:SGA) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc (Nasdaq:MSO), Osiris Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:OSIR), Southern National Bancorp Of Virginia Inc (Nasdaq:SONA), Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:BCRX), ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:ACAD) and American Commercial Lines Inc (Nasdaq:ACLI).

Small-cap stocks were in rally mode Tuesday morning, taking flight in response to signs of a thaw in the credit market freeze, oversold conditions that brought out bargain hunters and a sizable jump in overseas equities markets. From an economic data perspective, today’s consumer confidence report and Case-Shiller Home Price Index releases were somber at best.  Today’s small-cap gainers are Apria Healthcare Group Inc. (NYSE:AHG), Syms Corp. (Nasdaq:SYMS) and Smith Micro Software (Nasdaq:SMSI).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Crude oil prices were up about $1 a barrel this morning, helped along by a mild dip in the U.S. dollar against the euro.  
• European energy stocks also were in rally mode today, which should provide a lift to U.S. energy stocks as well.  
• After a global rout in equities Monday, investors came in today with relief that stocks in Asia and Europe were in rally mode instead of deepening the slide. 
• The dip in Libor rates also corresponds with the FOMC meeting, which began today and which should result in a rate cut Wednesday afternoon. 
• Small-cap stocks were in rally mode Tuesday morning, currently up 2% and taking flight in response to signs of a thaw in the credit market freeze.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Apria Healthcare Group Inc. is rallying 45%. Its stock will cease to trade publicly when a merger with The Blackstone Group is completed; shares will be converted into $21 cash. See (NYSE:AHG).  
• Syms Corp. is up 18%, trying to reverse Monday’s decline to fresh closing lows. See (Nasdaq:SYMS).
• Dell Selects Smith Micro Software to Deliver Universal Connection Management Software, up 5%. See (Nasdaq:SMSI).  
• Schnitzer Steel cautioned markets in early F09 have significantly weakened and it is uncertain when improvements may be seen. (Nasdaq:SCHN).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Ceradyne reports Q3 net income tumbles 40%, guides 2008 below the Street. See (Nasdaq:CRDN).  
• The nation’s largest rent-to-own operator Rent-A-Center reduces Q4 outlook on severity of financial crisis, down 33%. See (Nasdaq:RCII).  
• Martha Stewart misses analysts estimate by penny, issues Q4 and 08 revenue below Street. See (NYSE:MSO).
• Buffalo Wild Wings’ EPS fall short of Street view, expects sales and EPS growth in 25% range for full year, just shy of the Street.  (Nasdaq:BWLD).  

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE:MSO) said this morning that the company’s president and chief executive officer, Susan Lyne, has stepped down from her posts. The media and merchandising company said it will promote president of media Wenda Harris Millard and president of merchandising Robin Marino to the positions of Co-CEO. Ms. Lyne will stay on in an advisory role to ensure a smooth transition and will remain a director during that period.

Shares were halted in pre-market trading. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Martha Stewart Living, click MSO. 

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) survived a late-session scare to post a small gain on news of a profit rise at Wal-Mart. The small-cap index added 0.82 points, or 0.12%, to 702.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) fell 10.99 points, or 0.09%, to 12,337.22.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 8.31%, while the Dow is down 6.99% and the S&P 500 has decreased 8.14%.

Trading got off to a bullish start today following news that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) posted a 4% rise in net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007.

The result was in line with analysts’ expectations and was largely attributed to strong overseas sales. However, the Bentonville, Ark.-based company warned that it could miss analysts’ expectations during the current quarter and forecasted U.S. same-store sales to be flat or rise no more than 2%.

The small-cap index roared out of the gate, soaring more than 1% to a level beyond 710 points. Small-cap stocks held on to gains of different magnitudes until they abruptly fell into negative territory at about 2:40 p.m. ET.

The reason: the price of oil rose to above $100 a barrel due to news of a refinery fire in Texas over the weekend and concerns about exports from producing countries Venezuela and Nigeria.

Worries that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which controls about 40% of global oil production, will keep production steady when it next meets in April also contributed to the rise in the price of oil.

The Russell 2000 languished in the red until minutes before the close, when the bulls returned to give it a boost.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) shares are rising after the media and merchandising company reported that it bought the rights to the Emeril Lagasse franchise of cookbooks, kitchen products and TV shows. The New York City-based firm said it paid $45 million in cash and $5 million in stock for the rights. The price could rise to $70 million if certain benchmarks are achieved.

"Emeril brings talent, energy and legions of fans to the Martha Stewart family, along with a powerful brand and an attractive, profitable business franchise," CEO Susan Lyne said in a statement. "Emeril's high-quality food-related content and product lines complement our own, and offer multi-platform expansion opportunities. This acquisition is a significant one strategically as we expand and diversify our business by applying our expertise in managing multi-platform lifestyle brands."

Lyne said the purchase will contribute “immediately” to the company’s performance.

Lagasse’s 11 restaurants will be unaffected by the transaction.

Also on Tuesday, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced it agreed to buy 40% of the online wedding planning site WeddingWire. Under the agreement, WeddingWire will provide its tools to Martha Stewart’s website.

Investors are reacting positively to the transactions as MSO shares are up 15.82%, or $0.97, at $7.10 in afternoon trading. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $5.22 to $19.50.

As Internet mania soared in the late 1990s, so did the stocks of companies that promised to turn brick and mortar stores into online e-tailers. None of them saw the ground until they hit it in the dot-com crash.

Art Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARTG), a Cambridge, Mass., seller of e-commerce software, is one company that imitated Icarus, the mythological figure who soared high before plunging back to earth after heat from the sun melted his wings, and the result was not pretty. Founded in 1991, the company went public in July 1999 at $6 per share and peaked at $125 a year later after splitting 2:1 in March. Then the meltdown began, and revenue dropped from $63 million in the fourth quarter of 2000 to a low of about $14 million in the second quarter of 2002. By that time the stock was trading for less than $1.

Art Technology Group, commonly referred to as ARTG, is still alive, although the stock is hovering much closer to the ground these days having closed Thursday at $4.17. Still, that’s nearly double the price it commanded a year ago. Several Wall Street analysts believe the company has successfully restructured and is ready to make smaller yet impressive gains over the next few years.

ARTG has a strong lineup of software and services to create everything from online shopping carts, customer service systems and marketing programs to systems that understand natural language queries and collect data about individual buying and site surfing patterns. Its big advantage is its ability to tailor searches and other features to individuals based on their past actions.

“ARTG has one of the most, if not the most, robust e-commerce solutions around,” says Paul Kaump at Northland Securities.