Tag - Omcl

Today the market was oversold on short-term momentum studies entering the session after suffering the worst inauguration day collapse . . .

Small-cap stocks took flight today, notching the biggest one-day gain of 2009, just one day after sinking to the worst performance of the New Year. The topsy-turvy world of equity market investing set aside the gloom from Tuesday’s slide amid strong earnings from technology bellwether IBM, and money flow benefited stocks as Treasury markets tumbled. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) soared 23.12, or 5.33%, to 456.76; for the year, small caps are still down 8.5%, on target for the worst January showing in more than 15 years. Meanwhile, the Dow is down 6.2% for the year and the S&P 500 is off 7%.

The fact that small caps led the way on the rally today is a positive sign amid plenty of gloom for the marketplace. Investors will have to become more comfortable embracing risk for the market to truly rally off these bear market lows, and putting their faith in small caps would be an interesting development — but as you can see by the yearly return, that leap of faith hasn’t been made yet.

The market was oversold on short-term momentum studies entering the session after suffering the worst inauguration day collapse in history. An upbeat profit reading from International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) set the stage for a bounce back rally today, but the market still needs to extend the move to suggest that the inauguration day slide was the anomaly and not today’s recovery.

The market has been buffeted with poor profit reports for months and a . . .

Omnicell Inc. (Nasdaq:OMCL), Cash America International Inc. (Nasdaq:CSH) and Hancock Holding Co. (Nasdaq:HBHC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: VSE Corp. (Nasdaq:VSEC), Hanesbrands Inc. (Nasdaq:HBI), BioSpecifics Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq:BSTC), First Citizens Bancorp Cleveland (Nasdaq:FCZA), Eagle Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:EGBN) and Dynamic Materials Corp. (Nasdaq:BOOM).

Small-cap stocks pushed higher on the opening, bolstered by an oversold bounce after Tuesday’s jolting losses. Additional upside momentum was tied to solid earnings from tech bellwether IBM. The market will now dissect various earnings numbers today and look for details on the Obama stimulus plan for trading direction. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG), Tier Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:TIER) and Wimm-bill-Dann Foods (NYSE:WBD).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• From a money flow standpoint, Treasury prices were taking a hit today, raising yields on bonds and notes, suggesting money moving into equities.  
• The Architecture Billings Index rose to 36.4 in December, up from 34.7 the previous month.  
• Johnson-Redbook Retail Sales came in down 2.3% for last week, yet another gloomy picture of the spending mentality in play right now.
• This week’s action is basically devoid of economic indicators, which will put extra attention on various earnings reports, political news and world events.  
• Bank stocks have been hammered mercilessly in recent days and paced the declines again during Tuesday’s rout. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Packaging Corporation of America rallied 19%, getting a lift after reporting quarterly results after the close Tuesday. See (NYSE:PKG).  
• Tier Technologies Inc. was up 14% following news that the firm will buy ePayments Solutions and also will implement a stock repurchase program. See (Nasdaq:TIER).  
• Wimm-bill-Dann Foods was up almost 13% as Russia’s big diary company tries to mount a bounce after several days of heavy losses. See (NYSE:WBD).  
• UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA) reported results ahead of the opening today, with a big loss (but not as bad as the Street had feared), and an erosion on fuel hedges hurting results. UAUA was up almost 3% shortly after the open. See (Nasdaq:UAUA).

Small Cap Loser:

• Omnicell updates 2008 year-end guidance and announces company reorganization; shares plummet nearly 40% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:OMCL).

DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS), Omnicell Inc. (Nasdaq:OMCL) and Semtech Corp. (Nasdaq:SMTC) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Ciena Corp. (Nasdaq:CIEN), Wind River Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:WIND), Fossil Inc. (Nasdaq:FOSL), Otter Tail Corp (Nasdaq:OTTR), ATMI Inc. (Nasdaq:ATMI) and EarthLink Inc. (Nasdaq:ELNK).

Bluegreen Corp (Nasdaq:BXG), UAL Corp (Nasdaq:UAUA) and Preferred Bank (Nasdaq:PFBC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Sierra Bancorp (Nasdaq:BSRR), ATA Inc (Nasdaq:ATAI), Omnicell Inc (Nasdaq:OMCL), Domino's Pizza Inc (Nasdaq:DPZ), Babcock & Brown Air Ltd (Nasdaq:FLY) and Community Bancorp (Nevada) (Nasdaq:CBON).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMCL), Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRBC) and AMCORE Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMFI) were among the new 52-week lows established during Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

Insight Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT), Ambassadors International, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMIE) and Lee Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LEE) were also among the 52-week small-cap lows.

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

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) took a hit Tuesday, tumbling 14.29, or 1.99%, to 703.71. Through much of the afternoon the index was flirting with losses beyond 2.5%, which has only happened eight times this year. Small caps bore the brunt of investor disdain, dropping more than one percentage point in excess of the Dow or S&P 500.

The sharp decline in small-cap versus large-cap issues was fueled by several factors, including concerns that small-cap banks will struggle even more so than large-cap banks through this credit crunch, as large banks have an easier time raising capital, said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research with MF Global, in an email.

In addition, Kalivas said that a weak dollar was positive for large caps over small caps because the larger companies tend to have more exposure to overseas customers, and a weak dollar makes their goods more attractively priced to foreign customers.

Furthermore, Kalivas said that earnings within the small-cap sector suffered relative to large caps. “Big losses were seen in AXE, OMCL and ASTE, which hurt small . . .

Stocks are continuing to crumble midday after crude oil and the greenback hit records. Lackluster outlooks from juggernauts Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) and DuPont (NYSE:DD) also weighed down the market.

At 1:28 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) toppled 17.6 points, or 2.45%, to 700.04, while the Dow sunk 137.11 points, or 1.07%, to a level of 12,687.91.

Crude oil climbed to an intraday record of $120 a barrel, as the dollar hit a new low against the euro. The greenback climbed to $1.60 per euro for the first time after the European Central Bank signaled it will not slash interest rates due to inflation concerns Oil also spiked on a Nigerian supply disruption.

“Over the last 24 hours, four ECB speakers state that they’re concerned about inflation — one going as far as to say that they’re considering raising rates every month going forward,” Andy Busch, BMO Capital Markets global ethics strategist said. “This is part of why the U.S. dollar has come under so much pressure from the euro.”

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said this morning that existing-home sales slid 2% in the month of March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million from a level of 5.03 million in February. The sales number was . . .

Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMCL), Protherics PLC (Nasdaq:PTIL) and The Talbots, Inc. (NYSE:TLB) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

VNUS Medical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:VNUS), Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:PTEC) and AMCORE Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMFI) are also among the top small-cap percentage losers.

Here are Tuesday's biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks opened lower, and at 10:01 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 9.43, or 1.31%, at 708.57. Small-cap issues paced the early slump in U.S. equities, as the Dow was only off about 0.6%.

The 10:00 a.m. ET release of Existing Home Sales data was on target with analyst forecasts and had very little immediate impact on the market.

The home sales was the first economic release so far this week, and given a dearth of economic data, the market has been focused on the never-ending run of quarterly earnings releases. From afar, the numbers haven’t really looked that great, but soft returns were expected, and so far the market is higher into the initial earnings push.

The latest batch of big-name earnings releases into today’s action served up a mixed bag, with Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) missing the forecast, while DuPont (NYSE:DD) beat the estimate. Texas Instruments was under selling pressure this morning, last down 4% after the chipmaker said the soft economy and sluggish demand for cell phones would hurt second-quarter results. DuPont’s strong earnings were fueled by agriculture products and overseas demand.

Commodity markets appear to be on a modest roll today, which could provide a boost to commodity-linked stocks if the trend remains in play throughout the session. Crude oil made new highs overnight and remains on a bid, lifted by civil unrest in producing state Nigeria, a refinery strike in Scotland and a Japanese tanker hit by rocket fire off the coast of Yemen. Gold and grains are also expected to hit the ground running in U.S. trading action this morning.

Financial shares in Europe were hit hard overnight, with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays down in the 4% range as those banks navigate through . . .

Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMCL), Zoran Corp. (Nasdaq:ZRAN) and TomoTherapy Inc. (Nasdaq:TOMO) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:ALDN), Volterra Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq:VLTR) and AgFeed Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:FEED) are also among the most actively traded small-cap companies in pre-market trading.

Here are the most actively traded small-cap companies in Tuesday's pre-market trading:

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


• CSK Auto Corp. (CAO), up 51% on news it has received an unsolicited bid from rival O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) for $352 million in stock.
• Viad Corp. (VVI), up 23% on news it swung to a fourth-quarter profit.
• BankUnited Financial Corp. (BKUNA), up 18%.


• BioForm Medical, Inc. (BFRM), down 18% on news that net sales for the second quarter rose but did not meet analysts’ projections.
• Omnicell, Inc. (OMCL) down 20% on news that fourth-quarter earnings met Wall Street’s forecast.
• Agilysys, Inc. (AGYS), down 13% on news that fiscal 2008 third-quarter profit fell 90%.

Shares of medication control and patient safety provider Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMCL) were lower after this morning’s report of a decline in net income.  First quarter 2007 net income totaled $4.0 million, or $0.13 per share, compared with $4.1 million, or $0.14 per share in the fourth quarter of 2006.  Shares are down $0.31, or 1.41%, to $21.73.