Tag - Pncl

Align Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:ALGN), Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Nasdaq:PNCL) and CryoLife Inc. (Nasdaq:CRY) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Jacksonville Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:JXSB), China Biotics Inc. (Nasdaq:CHBT), Herley Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:HRLY), RG Barry Corp. (Nasdaq:DFZ), LSB Corp. (Nasdaq:LSBX) and Cedar Fair, L.P. (Nasdaq:FUN).

Shares of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Nasdaq: PNCL) slipping ahead of the opening bell after the airline holding company posted a net loss in the second quarter, compared with net profit in the second quarter of 2007 due to soaring jet fuel prices, the decision to return leased aircraft to lessors and a charge associated with auction rate securities. Excluding one-time charges the firm booked net profit, but the bottom-line still fell short of the Street.

Shares flopped 9%, or $0.59, to $5.93 ahead of the opening. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Pinnacle Airlines, click PNCL.

Small-cap stocks pushed lower, pulled down by losses in the tech sector and profit-taking from traders who caught the recovery rally off the lows. Today’s action represented a relatively calm finish to a frantic, volatile week that saw equities recover from the doorstep of desperation. For Friday, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 3.54, or 0.51%, at 693.08.

Despite the modest pullback today, small caps closed out the week with a gain of 18.13, or 2.68%, which is no small accomplishment considering the market made four-month lows on Tuesday when panic about the solvency of government-sponsored mortgage lenders hit a crescendo. At one point earlier this week, there seemed to be a swelling sense of doom about potential systemic risk within the entirety of the financial system, so the dramatic bounce off the lows swept in an important calming influence into things. What’s more, the nice rally off those lows turned the chart picture from a bear market path into a potential bullish reversal, which is an encouraging signal.

As for today’s action, financial stocks continued to seduce investors back into the fold, with the financial SPDR rising 3.5% despite the pullback in other sectors. Clearly, tech stocks were out of favor with stock market traders today, as soft earnings from key players such as Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) and Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) overwhelmed bright spots such as IBM Inc. (NYSE:IBM). For the day, GOOG was down 9.7% and MSFT lost 6%.

Crude oil prices actually closed out Friday in negative territory after spending most of the session in the green, which kept a lid on buying enthusiasm in small caps throughout much of the day. Crude oil prices collapsed some 15% off last week’s record highs, which should bring some relief at the gas pump for consumers if prices will only stay contained looking forward. Although a late wave of selling pulled crude oil lower on the day, there was some reluctance to press . . .

Small-cap stocks are stumbling in Friday afternoon trading, pulled down by profit-taking ahead of the weekend from money traders who caught the bounce this week and by weak earnings in the tech sector. At 1:54 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 5.65, or 0.81%, at 690.98.

Despite the rise in financials led by Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), techs were on the defensive this afternoon, paced by losses in Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) and Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), both of which reported earnings that disappointed investors.

The greenback is up against the yen, but down against the dollar. A positive reaction to Citibank’s results seemed to boost the U.S. dollar briefly. Crude oil is up to $129.90 in recent trading.

Broad market sectors on the rise this afternoon included casinos, technology retailers, construction raw materials, money center banks and trucking companies. On the downside, catalog and mail-order retailers, grocery stores, coal, insurance, and audio and video equipment companies were experiencing a sell-off.

Small-cap stocks on the move this afternoon include airline holding company Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Nasdaq:PNCL), which is up more 36% after announcing after the close on Thursday it had extended its agreement with Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL). Brookings, S.D.-based ethanol producer VeraSun Energy Corporation (NYSE:VSE) was upgraded early Friday by UBS to “buy” from “neutral,” sending shares up more than 25%. AMCOL International Corporation (NYSE:ACO) has jumped 19% in today’s trading after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results. The specialty mineral producer reported ahead of the bell that 2008 . . .

Airline holding company Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Nasdaq:PNCL) is up more 40% today after announcing after the close on Thursday it had reached an agreement with Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL). Under the agreement, Pinnacle Airlines Inc., a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp., will continue to fly for Delta. The agreement is an extension to an existing contract. Earlier this year, Delta announced plans to end the contract with Pinnacle on July 31, but the extension will now go through 2017.

In today’s trading, shares of Memphis-based Pinnacle are at $5.04, up $1.41 from Thursday’s close.

Small-cap stocks edged lower Tuesday, pulled down by hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve that spurred concerns among investors that the next rate move might be a hike to protect against rising inflation expectations. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) lost 2.63, or 0.36%, to 732.62, the lowest daily close since May 23.

Last night, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank will resist rising long-term inflation, and he intimated that the economy wasn’t too fragile to move price concerns to the forefront of policy decisions. The fear of higher rates amid a sluggish economic environment ignited a global rout on stocks and bonds coming into the U.S. trading session, and stoked stagflation fears this morning. Several other Fed officials and policy makers from around the world joined in on the anti-inflation talk, magnifying the seemingly new hard stance on price issues.

It’s quite possible that the Fed and other central bank officials around the globe are simply jawboning against inflation to see what kind of response they can illicit from the market. After all, Fed is historically loathe to raise interest rates when the unemployment rate is still rising, and it’s hard to forget the surprise 0.5% jump in unemployment to 5.5% in last Friday’s jobs data — the largest one-month percentage rise in unemployment in 22 years.

With bonds and stocks sinking this morning in the wake of Bernanke’s inflation saber-rattling, investors looked for a safe-haven within equities, and found it among Dow stocks with solid earnings. The result was that the Dow soundly outperformed the Russell 2000, and the spread between the two index products narrowed. The Russell 2000 has been charging against the Dow for the last two weeks, so a pullback in the spread is not surprising. The last time the Russell made a similar dramatic run against the Dow was in mid-March, when the market was attempting to forge a bottom.

The dollar was the direct immediate beneficiary of Bernanke’s remarks, shooting 1% against the yen to three-month highs, and gaining a whopping 200 basis points, or 1.3%, against the euro. The strong dollar helped spark a reversal slide in crude oil prices, which were up some $2 a barrel in the early going today, but shed . . .

Small-cap stocks plunged on the opening, pulled down by hawkish inflation comments overnight from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said that the central bank will resist rising long-term inflation. His comments stoked stagflation fears and sent a shiver through already embattled financial shares, which fear higher interest rates. At 9:56 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was off 4.77, or 0.65%, at 730.48.

Bernanke also said that the risk of a substantial downturn in the economy has eased, which hints that the Fed has shifted into a “fight inflation” mode. If so, then the next move from the Fed could be a rate hike, which would raise the price of money, boost rates and seemingly support the U.S. dollar. Indeed, the greenback jumped overnight on the Bernanke remarks, climbing to three-month highs against the yen, and rising about 0.9% versus the euro. The dollar managed to remain higher despite a sloppy monthly trade report, which showed the U.S. deficit climb to $ 60.9 billion, above the forecast for a deficit of $59.9 billion.

Despite the jump in the U.S. dollar this morning, crude oil prices were higher, rising back above $137 overnight as supply jitters countered softer demand from lofty prices. The OPEC Secretary General said the energy market was “panicking” and that there was no shortage of oil now or in the future. That said, Russia’s Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe’s natural gas, predicted crude oil prices could double within 18 months, reaching $250 dollars a barrel in 2009. Right into the U.S. stock market opening, crude oil prices did pull off the highs, and gold was down $2 dollars. As the day progresses, it will be interesting to see if commodity markets are shaken by the Fed’s heightened inflation focus and the upside pop in the dollar. From a long-term perspective, the dollar is still historically low, which bolsters demand for many commodity goods that are priced in dollar units.

Right now, investors are concerned that the United States could limp into a stagflation stage in which high prices combine with a stagnant economy to cripple corporate input costs and rob consumer purchasing power. These fears are also surfacing at a time when small caps are coming off six-month highs, perhaps providing a higher . . .

Fidelity Southern Corp (Nasdaq:LION), Pinnacle Airlines Corp (Nasdaq:PNCL) and Pharmaxis Ltd (Nasdaq:PXSL) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

WGNB Corp (Nasdaq:WGNB), Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:CRBC) and Security Bank Corp (Nasdaq:SBKC) are also among the new 52-week lows.

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

Blue Coat Systems Inc (Nasdaq:BCSI), Pinnacle Airlines Corp (Nasdaq:PNCL) and Mercantile Bank Corp (Nasdaq:MBWM) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

CapitalSouth Bancorp (Nasdaq:CAPB), KMG Chemicals Inc (Nasdaq:KMGB) and Aldila Inc (Nasdaq:ALDA) are also among the new 52-week lows.

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

Shares of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Nasdaq:PNCL) have taken flight on news before the opening that the holding company was upgraded to “overweight” from “underweight” by financial services giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM). The Memphis-based operator of regional airlines will report strong cash flow in the coming years, according to news reports of a research note published before the opening.

At 12:20 p.m. ET, the stock had ascended $0.68, or 8%, to $9.09.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) fell hard as investors worried about corporate earnings and reacted to news of record high oil prices. The small-cap index dropped 13.54 points, or 1.90%, to 698.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average let go 49.18 points, or 0.39%, to 12,527.26.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 8.83%, while the Dow has retreated 5.56% and the S&P 500 is down 7.75%.

Small-cap stocks suffered more than their bigger brothers today as fears that the sagging economy will weaken corporate earnings led to a sell-off. United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) reported after the close on Tuesday it lowered its first-quarter profit forecast. The Atlanta, Ga.-based company is considered a bellwether because its performance is closely related to the sales of other businesses.

More bearish news came after the start of trading following news reports that investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MER) will likely post a first-quarter loss due to its exposure to subprime loans and commercial real-estate debt.

In economic news, the price of oil briefly touched a record high of $112.21 a barrel on news after the opening that inventories unexpectedly fell . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is in negative territory on news of an unexpected decline in orders for durable goods.

At 12:37 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had declined 7.27 points, or 1.03%, to 698.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was down 116.82 points, or 0.93%, to 12,415.78.

Stocks small and large are falling on news before the start of trading that new orders for manufactured durable goods fell 1.7% in February, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Economists were expecting durable goods to increase 0.8% after falling a downwardly revised 4.7% in January.

The same report also showed that orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, an important measure of business spending, also declined.

News of the declines adds to fears that economic growth has gone flat.

Separately, the Census Bureau announced after the opening that sales of single-family homes fell 1.8% in February to the lowest reading in more than 10 years. However, the median home price jumped 8.2%.

Ceragon Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: CRNT), Incyte Corp. (Nasdaq: INCY) and Online Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCC) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $750 million:

Shares of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Nasdaq: PNCL) are lower despite news after Thursday’s close that the Memphis, Tenn.-based operator of Pinnacle Airlines and Colgan Air reported a 10.2% increase in customers for the month of May, compared with a year earlier.  Shares are down $0.41, or 2%, to $18.88.

Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based AVANIR Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AVNR) reported this morning that data from a Phase III clinical trial of the painkiller Zenvia shows the drug significantly eases the suffering of patients complaining of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain.