Tag - Ntct

Premiere Global Services Inc. (Nasdaq:PGI), AMCOL International Corp. (Nasdaq:ACO) and Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:RIGL) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Deckers Outdoor Corp. (Nasdaq:DECK), Western Alliance Bancorp (Nasdaq:WAL), NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT), Firstbank Corp. (Nasdaq:FBMI), Lakeland Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:LBAI) and Health Fitness Corp. (Nasdaq:FIT).

Tree.com Inc. (Nasdaq:TREE), GFI Group Inc. (Nasdaq:GFIG) and Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (Nasdaq:BGFV) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Par Technology Corp. (Nasdaq:PTC), James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC), NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT), Chiquita Brands International Inc. (Nasdaq:CQB), Patriot Coal Corp. (Nasdaq:PCX) and Fushi Copperweld Inc. (Nasdaq:FSIN).

CV Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:CVTX), Interwoven Inc. (Nasdaq:IWOV) and DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Palm Inc (Nasdaq:PALM), Apollo Investment Corp (Nasdaq:AINV), Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc (Nasdaq:EGLE), Ameristar Casinos Inc (Nasdaq:ASCA), Geron Corp (Nasdaq:GERN) and NetScout Systems Inc (Nasdaq:NTCT).

NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT), SL Green Rlty  (Nasdaq:SLG) and VAALCO Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:EGY) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

thinkorswim Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SWIM), DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS) and Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:SOLF) are among the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Ciena Corp. (Nasdaq:CIEN), Sonic Corp. (Nasdaq:SONC), Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:IDEV), Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:EGLE), NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT) and Exide Technologies (Nasdaq:XIDE).

NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT), Zion Oil and Gas Inc. (Nasdaq:ZN) and Indiana Community Bancorp (Nasdaq:INCB) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: ICT Group Inc. (Nasdaq:ICTG), QC Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:QCCO), Arbitron Inc. (Nasdaq:ARB), Oriental Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:OFG), VIST Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:VIST) and Triangle Capital Corp. (Nasdaq:TCAP).

Small-cap stocks went into a tailspin in early trading, pulled down by a gloomy report on the jobs front ahead of Friday’s key employment release. In addition, some big companies announced plans to slash workers or cautioned on the outlook, which sent a chill into a market that started out the year on a decent roll.  Some of today’s small-cap gainers are NetScout Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT), Polycom Inc. (Nasdaq:PLCM) and AK Steel (NYSE:AKS).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Looking at the chart picture, the Russell 2000 finished Tuesday near a test of logical resistance at 514.50 but appears set to retreat from that zone early today.  
• The ADP National Employment Report showed a startling drop in jobs of 693,000, way above the forecast for a decline of 480,000.  
• The Dow is expected to open about 125 points lower, while the Russell 2000 is seen down about 1.2%, near 508.50.  
• U.S. stocks are expected to open lower, pulled down by declines in Europe and a private employment survey this morning that came in weaker-than-expected.

Small Cap Gainers:

• NetScout Systems, Inc. is up 30% to $13.33 after announcing preliminary Q3 results and raising FY2009 guidance Tuesday. (See Nasdaq:NTCT)  
• Video-conferencing products maker Polycom Inc. is up 11% in pre-market trading to $15.40 after issuing upward guidance and announcing job cuts late Tuesday. (See Nasdaq:PLCM)
• AK Steel is 7.1% higher at $11.96 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the firm to "Buy" from "Neutral." (See NYSE:AKS)  
• Finish Line Inc. is up 6.5% at $5.73 after reporting a narrower 3Q loss after the close Tuesday. (See Nasdaq:FINL)  

Small Cap Losers:

• Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. and Texas Capital BancShares Inc. established new 52-week lows in early trading. (See NYSE:HRC, Nasdaq:TCBI)  
• Blyth Inc., which makes home-fragrance products and other household items, is down 11% to $6.19 after a downgrade by Jefferies & Co. (See NYSE:BTH)  
• Polymer products maker Landec Corporation is down 23% to $5.65 after news this morning of a downgrade from Northland Securities. (See Nasdaq:LNDC)

Small-cap stocks went into a tailspin in early trading, pulled down by a gloomy report on the jobs front ahead of Friday’s key employment release. In addition, some big companies announced plans to slash workers or cautioned on the outlook, which sent a chill into a market that started out the year on a decent roll. At 9:59 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was off 9.96, or 1.93% at 504.75.

The big scare this morning came from the ADP National Employment survey, which showed that the private sector lost a stunning 693,000 jobs in December, way above the 476,000 lost in November and also well clear of the forecast for a decline of 480,000. This marked the largest decline since the ADP report was started back in 2001. The methodology for this report was tweaked, which could take some edge off the big decline in jobs, but the market clearly was stressed by the report. The ADP data also will heighten concerns about the employment picture ahead of Friday’s big ...

FirstCity Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:FCFC), Naugatuck Valley Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:NVSL) and West Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:WTBA) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Franklin Street Properties Corp. (Nasdaq:FSP), NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT), American Commercial Lines Inc. (Nasdaq:ACLI), Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:PGC), Citizens & Northern Corp. (Nasdaq:CZNC) and Lawson Products Inc. (Nasdaq:LAWS).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Metalico Inc. (Nasdaq:MEA), GFI Group Inc. (Nasdaq:GFIG) and Media General Inc. (Nasdaq:MEG) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: MF Global Ltd. (Nasdaq:MF), Hudson Highland Group Inc. (Nasdaq:HHGP), NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT), Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (Nasdaq:AGM), Evergreen Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:ESLR) and FortuNet Inc. (Nasdaq:FNET).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Westford, Mass.-based NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT) is up 13% today after analysts at Canaccord Adams raised the company’s price target to $18.50 from $15 while maintaining its “buy” rating after the opening. The news came on the heels of Thursday’s strong first-quarter earnings report. The company reported revenue of $60.6 million with net income of $1.5 million, or $0.04 per share.

“We successfully integrated the two sales forces without major disruption in order flow. This was the last important organizational step in the integration of the two companies. We are on schedule for the delivery of new products and upgrades that will support our growth and extend our market leadership. Despite growing indications of an economic slowdown we have not yet seen significant cutbacks in IT spending for our products, because we believe our customers recognize the high value derived from our integrated packet flow-based application management solutions,” said president and CEO Anil Singhal in a statement.

In today’s trading, shares of NetScout Systems are at $12.70 at 1:20 p.m. ET, up $1.44 from Thursday’s close. Trading volume is at nearly 700,000 shares, more than double the average.

Watch this section for a periodic look at topics of interest from the staff of SmallCapInvestor.com.

It’s been a rough ride for technology this year. However, the small-cap tech space looks to be bottoming out, which means opportunities are emerging for investors.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index is down roughly 5% year-to-date, though narrowing from a wider negative margin of as much as almost 17% in March.

“[Small-cap tech] has been an area that has been very much a stock picker's market rather than a broad coverage,” said Joe McNay, chief investment officer and managing principal of Essex Investment Management Company, in an interview last week.  “Overall, I think it's been an improving area that many stocks are making bottoms in — as a whole it continuously looks a little better. We’re at a point where there are lots of opportunities.”

Much like the economy, technology stocks exhibit a degree of cyclicality. The first expenditures that businesses typically cut back on are technology purchases. On the consumer side, disposable income is funneled into necessities first and discretionary items second.

The consumer could remain under pressure, as rocketing food and oil prices coupled with credit that is hard to come by and rising unemployment levels have crimped purse strings this year. However, as the Federal Reserve’s rate cuts begin to kick in and create greater liquidity, corporations should get back on their feet as they . . .

Small-cap stocks roared out of the gate in morning trading, but a widespread sell-off began around 10 a.m. ET and erased gains. A rallying attempt shortly before noon was met with resistance and small caps have continued to decline in Friday afternoon trading. At 1:34 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) slipped 4.01, or 0.55%, at 725.74.

At 10:08 a.m. ET, the small-cap index peaked at 735.78, its highest point since early January. Bullish investors were encouraged by a better-than-expected monthly employment report, which showed a decline of 20,000 payroll jobs in April — much better than the median forecast for a loss of 80,000 jobs. In addition, the headline unemployment figure came in at 5%, which was down from 5.1% last month and well above the number cruncher’s pre-release figure of 5.2%.

Just ahead of the employment release, the Federal Reserve added liquidity into the system, which sparked a brief flurry of conspiracy theorists that perhaps the credit crunch was rearing its head again, or that the employment report would be a bearish surprise. Clearly, the latter wasn’t the case, and it’s most likely that the . . .

Small-cap stocks shot out of the gate this morning amid a wave of buying enthusiasm, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) up 2.74, or 0.37%, at 732.48 at 9:57 a.m. ET. The early peak was at 734.84, which marks the highest point since early January. Bullish investor psychology was powered by a better-than-expected monthly employment report, which showed a decline of 20,000 payroll jobs in April — much better than the median forecast for a loss of 80,000 jobs. In addition, the headline unemployment figure came in at 5%, which was down from 5.1% last month and well above the number cruncher’s pre-release figure of 5.2%.

It should be noted that the labor market is still contracting, which is a troubling sign for the economy. Still, markets tend to trade on expectations, and when the news isn’t as bad as feared, it clears the way for buying interest to emerge. However, before March lows were carved out, the market had an unsettling way of trading higher on jobs day in recent months, only to resume the downward swing in the days following the initial reaction.

Just ahead of the employment release, the Federal Reserve added liquidity into the system, which sparked a brief flurry of conspiracy theorists that perhaps the credit crunch was rearing its head again, or that the employment report would be a bearish surprise. Clearly, the latter wasn’t the case, and it’s most likely that . . .

The Russell 2000 (IWM) and the other major U.S. indices lost big today as news of a steep decline in the services sector led to recession fears. The small-cap index let go 21.88 points, or 3.02%, to 701.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was off 370.03 points, or 2.93%, to 12,265.13.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has shed 8.41%, while the Dow has retreated 7.54% and the S&P 500 has shed 8.97%.

The bears ran the show today as news of an unexpectedly deep drop in U.S. services in January sparked a sell-off.

The Institute for Supply Management said that its index of non-manufacturing dropped to 41.9 in January from 54.4 in December. The result is far worse than the one expected by economists. A reading above 50 is a sign of growth.

Services comprise about 75% of U.S. gross domestic product and a decline would surely throw off an economy already beset with a slump in the housing sector, a credit squeeze and a pullback of consumer spending into recession.

Or maybe a recession has already started.

Either way, investors reacted to news of the biggest one-month decline in services in seven years by selling everything in sight. The makers of construction and raw materials suffered the most, follower by insurance companies and those manufacturing agricultural machinery. No single group of stocks posted a gain.

Separately, Banc of America Securities contributed to the bearish mood when it downgraded Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) to “neutral” from “buy.”

The Russell 2000 was trending down during the entire session, skidding to its lowest level at the close.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures have risen sharply and the small-cap index will likely open higher.

With no major economic releases scheduled for today, investors are focused on news from the corporate sector.

Bullish news came out of IT giant International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), which reported better-than-expected preliminary quarterly results this morning. The Armonk, New York-based company said that it expects earnings from continuing operations for the quarter ended Dec. 31 to be $2.80 per share, above Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $2.60 per share.

Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• A.S.V., Inc. (ASVI), up 44% on news it is being purchased by Terex Corp. (TEX) for about $488 million.
• DRDGOLD Ltd. (DROOY), up 14%.
• Titan Machinery Inc. (TITN), up 10%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• AspenBio Pharma, Inc. (APPY), down 5%.
• Netscout Systems, Inc. (NTCT), down 3%.
• Steven Madden, Ltd. (SHOO), down 1%.

NetScout Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT), a provider of advanced network and application performance management, said today that it is working with Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ)  to develop a “tight integration” with its technologies and HP’s Network Node Manager i-series.

NetScout said it will integrate its nGenius product with HP’s NNM i-series with the goal of improving operator efficiency and reducing time-consuming and costly escalation through troubleshooting.

The combined technologies are purported to offer advanced, application-aware performance alarming, analysis and troubleshooting for IT support for both enterprise and service provider networks. NetScout said the combination will also give early warnings for languishing application performance as well as an integrated work flow for problem detection and root cause analysis.

“[This partnership is] very meaningful for NetScout and will assist in recognition of the company,” said Brean Murray & Carret analyst Peter Jacobson. “However, it will take time to gain traction from the partnership and for significant revenues associated with alliance to ramp up.”
 
Jacobson says NetScout’s partnership with HP, which NetScout has had for a couple years now, is also very favorable for building relations with other major technology goliaths.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is down after opening with modest gains as investors reacted to upbeat earnings news.

At 10:41 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 1.34 points, or 0.16%, to 820.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had added 33.08 points, or 0.24%, to 13,839.78.

There is nothing major being released on the economic front today, so all eyes are focused on the latest corporate earnings.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), the second largest U.S. telecommunications company, announced before the opening that revenue for the third-quarter increased 5.8% to $23.8 billion from $22.5 billion a year earlier. However, net income declined by 34% to $1.27 billion, compared with $1.92 billion during the third quarter of 2006.

Computer maker Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) also contributed to the bullish sentiment when it said that it would consider making more acquisitions. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell has acquired five companies in the past two years.

The Russell 2000 opened in positive territory, but unexpectedly fell after about 10:15 a.m. ET.

Among small-cap companies, Gehl Co. (Nasdaq: GEHL) is down on news that the maker of compact construction equipment reported a decline in third-quarter income. Meanwhile, North American Galvanizing & Coatings (Nasdaq: NGA) is gaining ground on news before the start of trading that third-quarter profit more than doubled.

Triad Guaranty Inc. (Nasdaq: TGIC), Graham Corp. (AMEX: GHM) and US BioEnergy Corp. (Nasdaq: USBE) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers:

The bears roared today as the Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) lost ground due to renewed credit fears. The small-cap index dropped 11.80 points, or 1.40%, to 829.37. The Dow retreated 108.28 points, or 0.77%, to 13,984.80.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has increased 5.33%, while the Dow has added 12.11%.

Fears that this summer’s credit problems are still active spread throughout Wall Street today, leading to a steep sell-off.

It all started after Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) reported a 57% drop in its third-quarter profit. Net income at the New York-based bank, the largest in the U.S., was $2.38 billion, or $0.47 per share, compared with $5.51 billion, or $1.10 a share, during the same quarter a year earlier.

Citigroup blamed losses from subprime and leveraged loans, fixed-income trading and its U.S. consumer business for the decline in earnings.

Also dragging the financial sector down was news that Citigroup, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) will be pooling money to prevent investment funds from having to dump assets into the market.

The pool will try to prop up about $400 billion of structured investment vehicles, which have had trouble refinancing their debt and may even have to sell off assets to pay back investors.

Sequenom Inc. (Nasdaq:SQNM), NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCT) and Ultralife Batteries Inc. (Nasdaq:ULBI) were among the new 52-week highs established Monday among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

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

The vast array of high-tech products and services on the market today might loosely be divided into two categories: consumer products (such as PCs and cell phones) and technologies, such as computer servers and networking gear, that operate behind the scenes to keep PCs, cell phones and Internet connections running.

But the growing number of people using the Internet for increasingly complex services has given rise to another level of software that supports the behind-the-scenes gear. This new level, called network management software, works to ensure everything in the back office runs smoothly and is quickly becoming a critical part of large IT departments.

In the early days of the Internet, when people logged on only occasionally for basic text data, it was not so difficult to support a network. These days, though, with hundreds of millions of people demanding an almost constant connection to talk, shop, download music, watch videos or even hold virtual business meetings, IT departments have become vastly complex ecosystems of computers and software layered on top of one another.

Keeping a network humming can be a huge challenge. A recent study by IBM, for example, found that the typical company spends just 30% of its IT budget on computer hardware, with the other 70% used to maintain all the gear.

Network management software helps optimize the performance of high-speed networks by closely monitoring the performance of everything from routers and switches to individual applications. Most major computer and software companies like IBM and HP are active in this area, but a few smaller players are trying to compete with them.

Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT), a provider of products for the optimization of high-speed networks, today raised guidance for its second quarter of fiscal 2008 and announced it is acquiring Network General Corp. for $205 million.

For the three months ending September 30, the Westford, Mass.-based firm said it now anticipates earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.09 to $0.10, above the previously issued guidance range of $0.08 to $0.09. NetScout said this represents year-over-year net income per diluted share growth of 29% to 43%.

“They’ve been experiencing a robust environment in performance management, specifically in the wireless and financial vertical segments from customers like Cingular, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch,” said Brean Murray Carret & Co. analyst Peter Jacobson.

NetScout now expects total revenue to be in the range of $29 million to $30 million, compared with the previous guidance range of $28 million to $29 million. According to the company, this represents year-over-year revenue growth of 16% to 20%.
 
“Revenue has substantially increased in the vertical telecom area over the last year, or year and a half—it relates to the proliferation of wireless usage with clients like Cingular” said Jacobson. “The financial sector has typically been a good market in that there has been an increase in need for [NetScout’s] applications.”

Shares of NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT) ended the day in the winners’ column on news the Westford, Mass.-based network solutions company raised its first quarter earnings guidance.

The net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 ending June 30 will be in the range between $0.06 per share and $0.08 per share, the company announced before the start of trading. Three analysts polled by Thomson Financial were calling for earnings of $0.06 per share. NetScout Systems’ previous guidance was for a profit in between $0.05 per share and $0.06 per share.

The Russell 2000 is the only major U.S. index in the red this afternoon. At 2:21 p.m. ET the Russell 2000 had shed 3.16 points, or 0.38%, to 831.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 45.76 points, or 0.34%, to 13,406.02.

KVH Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: KVHI), which makes communications products for the land and marine markets, has received a $1.1 million order from the U.S. military. The equipment will be used for real-time image synchronization and stabilization in military training simulator systems, the Middletown, R.I.-based company said before the start of trading. Shares are up $0.16, or 2%, to $9.05.

Brokerage firm Jefferies & Co. raised its rating on Smith Micro Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMSI), a maker of software for wireless devices, to “buy” from “hold.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported this morning that the sale of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRMP) could be announced this week, according to people familiar with the deal.

Sangamo Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO) revealed early phase data from its AIDS treatment ZFP Therapeutic program at the American Diabetes Association conference. The company reported “statistically significant” improvement in subjects with diabetes complications.

Business software maker NetScout Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT) raised its first quarter revenue guidance to between $27 million and $28 million, up from its prior guidance of $26 million to $27 million.

Biopharmaceutical company Neurogen Corp. (Nasdaq: NRGN) reported positive top-line results for the mid-phase study of its insomnia treatment NG2-73.

The following are the most actively traded companies in Monday pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The Russell 2000 joined the other major U.S. indices posting strong gains on news of encouraging retail sales and economic data. The Russell 2000 moved up 10.82 points, or 1.32%, to finish at 832.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 187.34 points, or 1.41%, to 13,482.35.

Stocks gained right out of the gate on news that U.S. retail sales rose 1.4% in May, according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department. That’s more than twice the expected increase of 0.6% and a sign the economy is picking up speed.