Tag - Omri

Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS), Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:OMRI) and James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Silver Standard Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:SSRI), Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:PGNX), Verigy Ltd. (Nasdaq:VRGY), OmniVision Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:OVTI), Telvent GIT (Nasdaq:TLVT) and Fred's Inc. (Nasdaq:FRED).

Small-cap stocks opened higher, lifted by a rescue package for the nation’s No. 2 bank, which eased bank failure worries. In addition, optimism about President-elect Obama’s economic advisory team bolstered stocks Friday and remained in play today ahead of a news conference to announce his appointments. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are China Natural Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:CHNR), Omrix Biopharm (Nasdaq:OMRI) and CBRL Group Inc. (Nasdaq:CRBL).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Copper prices were up 7% in China trading and a steep drop in the U.S. dollar against the euro should provide a lift to commodity markets.  
• Crude oil prices were up about $1.50 a barrel shortly after the open, down from the overnight peak, but still supported by the stock market upside push.
• In a radio address this weekend, Obama said he wants a two-year stimulus plan to have a goal of creating 2.5 million new jobs.  
• The rescue package for Citigroup Inc. includes $306B in loan guarantees on toxic debt assets and $20 billion in direct cash injection.

Small Cap Gainers:

• China Natural Resources Inc. was up 18% without any apparent fresh news other the general rise in commodities today. See (Nasdaq:CHNR).  
• Johnson & Johnson to acquire Omrix Biopharm for $438 Million; shares of OMRI up 17% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:OMRI).  
• CBRL Group Inc. is up 12% after the parent of Cracker Barrel restaurant and gift shops beat the earnings forecast. See (Nasdaq:CRBL).


Small Cap Losers:

• Cascade Bancorp down 13.6% on light volume in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:CACB).  
• Fundtech down over 7% in pre-market after lowering its Q4 FY2008 outlook earlier this month. See (Nasdaq:FNDT).  
• Dish Network Corp. announces agreement with Rentrak Corporation for audience measurement reporting; shares are down nearly 3% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:DISH).  
• Barr shareholders approve pending Teva acquisition; shares down 2% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:TEVA).

Small-cap stocks opened higher, lifted by a rescue package for the nation’s No. 2 bank, which eased bank failure worries. In addition, optimism about President-elect Obama’s economic advisory team bolstered stocks Friday and remained in play today ahead of a news conference to announce his appointments. At 10:06 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 9.52, or 2.34%, at 416.06. The market appeared to add to the morning gains after the home sales report was released.

The existing home sales report came in at an annual rate of 4.98 million, which was basically in line with the forecast. October sales were off 3.1%, versus a 4.7% rise in September. The inventory of homes for sale was down 0.9% to 4.23 million units, representing 10.2 months of supply. The median price for a home tumbled 11.3%, the largest percentage drop since the data series was started 40 years ago.

The rescue package for Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) includes $306 billion in loan guarantees on toxic debt assets and $20 billion in direct cash injection. Citigroup’s stock had been in a startling freefall in recent days, and there were concerns that the massive bank was in jeopardy of failure, which would carry broader systemic risk to the financial system, so today’s rescue news bolstered psychology across a wide range of financial stocks. Citigroup shares were up 41% shortly after the open. Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney said that she would maintain an “underperform” rating for Citigroup and that she was cautious about the bank’s futures losses and capital raising efforts. She also said that Citigroup shares at $5 represented a “speculative investment” that was appropriate for risk-tolerant investors.

President-elect Obama is slated to announce news on his economic team today at noon ET. The market already has embraced his apparent appointment of New York Federal Reserve Bank President Tim Geithner as the next Treasury Secretary. In a radio address this weekend, Obama said he wants a two-year stimulus plan to have a goal of creating 2.5 million new jobs. President Bush is also expected to make an announcement this morning around 10:35 a.m. ET after a morning meeting . . .

Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:OMRI), Hughes Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:HUGH) and Pan American Silver Corp. (Nasdaq:PAAS) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA), Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (Nasdaq:CETV), CBRL Group Inc. (Nasdaq:CBRL), Focus Media Holding Ltd. (Nasdaq:FMCN), Cascade Bancorp (Nasdaq:CACB) and Zoltek Companies Inc. (Nasdaq:ZOLT).

Small-cap stocks reversed course mid-morning, sinking to fresh move lows as worries about the economy and credit crisis overwhelmed optimism about spending on technology. At 12:22 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was off 7.33, or 1.34%, at 539.23. The Dow and S&P 500 also slipped into the red, but the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 remained solidly higher, up 1.75%.

Tech stocks started out the day with a feel-good earnings lift from bellwether IBM, which provided some confidence that spending in the tech arena would not fall off a cliff amid the ongoing credit crisis. However, gains were rapidly trimmed away in techs as other index products slipped into negative territory — once again unable to sustain an opening bounce. IBM shares were also unable to build on the morning highs, up only about 1.2% after rising some 4% early on.

Investors seem concerned that even with the extraordinary measures to provide liquidity and help businesses access credit that neither the economy nor the credit crisis has hit bottom yet. And if the economy isn’t near the worst yet, it’s difficult to embrace buying equities. Some of the best researchers on the planet also are forecasting further pain on the economic front, which likely filters out to the rest of the investment world. For example, Goldman Sachs said in a research report this morning that “while the shifts may begin to turn around the acceleration in negative sentiment that has gripped financial markets, there is likely to be significant further easing around the world before we are done. In essence, we continue to believe that immediate financial risk stresses will probably begin to fade in the face of concerted policy efforts but that the more standard forces of slower growth and lower inflation will continue. We expect another 50bp cut from the Fed at the October . . .

Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:OMRI), Micromet Inc (Nasdaq:MITI) and LoJack Corp (Nasdaq:LOJN) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.           

Also included among the results: Yucheng Technologies Ltd (Nasdaq:YTEC), PMFG Inc (Nasdaq:PMFG), Industrial Services of America Inc (Nasdaq:IDSA), i2 Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:ITWO), InterVoice Inc (Nasdaq:INTV) and Saia Inc (Nasdaq:SAIA).      

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:       

Bill Martin is well known as the founder of RagingBull.com, one of the earliest and most successful online investor sites. Now, he edits the equally successful BullMarket.com, which offers daily trading and investing advice and is noted for its in-depth research.

Martin recently turned his analysis to Omrix Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:OMRI), a small-cap firm that operates in the biosurgical products and passive immunotherapy markets. The stock has a market capitalization of $261 million.

The company's biosurgical products are used for the control of bleeding, or hemostasis, during surgery along with other surgical applications. Its key products are Evicel, Quixel and Evithrom.

The company has a marketing partnership with Ethicon, Martin says, which is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Ethicon handles the marketing and sales of the products, while Omrix focuses on manufacturing and product development.

"Evicel and Quixil are the first, and currently the only, commercially available liquid fibrin sealants that do not contain animal-derived components," he says. Evicel is approved in the United States for use in patients undergoing surgery when the control of bleeding by standard surgical techniques is ineffective or impractical.

The advisor says that Evithrom is the first human thrombin to be approved by the Food & Drug Administration since 1954, and it is the only product currently licensed.

The company's second market is a passive immunotherapy product line that includes products that are used to treat immune deficiencies and infectious diseases, as well as for potential biodefense applications.

It supplies vaccinia immunoglobulin, or VIG, to several governments as a means to treat smallpox vaccine-related complications in the event of a smallpox terrorist attack, according to Martin.

It also markets an intravenous version in Israel, known as IVIG, he says, . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) fell hard today as the stain from the subprime mortgage meltdown spread. The small-cap index let go 20.96 points, or 3.07%, to 662.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) declined 214.60 points, or 1.75%, to 12,040.39.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 is down 13.48%, while the Dow has retreated 9.23% and the S&P 500 has shed 11.17%.

The bears completely dominated trading today on news before the start of trading that investment company Carlyle Capital Corp. Ltd. had failed to meet a margin call and received a notice of default from one of the banks that helps finance its portfolio of mortgage securities.

Similarly, Santa Fe, N.M.-based residential mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage Inc. (NYSE: TMA) announced after the close on Wednesday that it had failed to meet a margin call of about $28 million.

A “margin call” is when banks call in their loans to investors, who are in turn forced to sell off assets to raise cash, leading to a reduction in the price of those assets and more margin calls and losses.

Today’s news raised fears that the credit squeeze and the consequences of the housing downturn will continue plaguing the financial system.

Shares of Omrix Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMRI) are rising following news after the start of trading that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s drug against minor bleeding.

Evithrom is the first blood-clotting protein to gain approval since 1954 and is the only product currently licensed, the agency said in a statement this morning. It is intended to stop oozing and minor bleeding from capillaries and small veins when standard surgical techniques are ineffective or not practical.

Wellness solution provider Mannatech Inc.’s (Nasdaq: MTEX) chief executive is being accused of operating an illegal marketing scheme by the Texas Attorney General, according to news reports after Thursday’s close. Investigators allege that Coppell, Texas-based Mannatech exaggerated claims about the therapeutic benefits of its dietary supplements and nutritional products for people with cancer. The stock is down $0.90, or 6%, to $15.10.

Shares of Inter-Tel (Delaware) Inc. (Nasdaq: INTL) are slightly higher following news this morning that the Tempe, Ariz.-based provider of Internet communications products forecasts net sales for the quarter ended June 30 between $113.5 million and $115.5 million, compared with net sales of $115.9 million a year earlier.