Tag - Npd

Forest City Enterprises (Nasdaq:FCE.A), Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (Nasdaq:AGM) and EnerSys (Nasdaq:ENS) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Tree.com Inc. (Nasdaq:TREE), China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd, (Nasdaq:NPD), First California Financial Group Inc.(Nasdaq:FCAL), Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:VNDA), LCA Vision Inc. (Nasdaq:LCAV) and Astronics Corp. (Nasdaq:ATRO).

"Today, most independent drug stores in the U.S. have been replaced by the behemoth pharmacy departments; but in China, the business is still dominated by mom-and-pop operations," says China expert Tony Sagami.

In his The Asia Stock Alert, he says, "However, that is changing, and getting in on the ground floor with China Nepstar (NYSE:NPD) could make you a bundle of money."

"No Chinese company controls more than 1% of the country’s entire pharmacy industry. In the business world, that’s called a highly fragmented industry. Not for long.

"Just like in the U.S., the pharmacy business is in the process of slowly changing from mom-and-pops to big, bulk-buying corporate giants.

"In China, that change is being brought on by China Nepstar, the country’s largest drugstore chain with 2,700 outlets. Established in 1995, the green Nepstar store is becoming a familiar sight in many Chinese urban neighborhoods.

"Being the biggest has some significant advantages. For instance, it’s the only retailer to have successfully negotiated discount purchasing agreements with drug manufacturers and it has aggressively introduced private label products (with jumbo profit margins) into its stores.

"Much like American drug stores, Nepstar sells a lot more than just prescription drugs. In fact, only 20% of 2008 sales were pharmaceutical drugs — over-the-counter drugs (38% of sales) and nutritional supplements (21%) are . . .

SemGroup Energy Partners LP (Nasdaq:SGLP), TeleTech Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:TTEC) and ValueClick Inc (Nasdaq:VCLK) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Courier Corp (Nasdaq:CRRC), Northern States Financial Corp (Nasdaq:NSFC), Hawthorn Bancshares Inc (Nasdaq:HWBK), Cornerstone Progressive (Nasdaq:CFP), China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd (Nasdaq:NPD) and C&F  Financial Corp (Nasdaq:CFFI).

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps: