Tag - Powr

Hot Topic, Inc. (Nasdaq:HOTT), Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:RJET) and Mothers Work Inc. (Nasdaq:MWRK) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.           

Also included among the results: Met-Pro Corp. (Nasdaq:MPR), PowerSecure International Inc. (Nasdaq:POWR), Gateway Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:GBTS), Transcat Inc. (Nasdaq:TRNS), Integral System Inc. (Nasdaq:ISYS) and Innovative Solutions and Support Inc. (Nasdaq:ISSC).     

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:  

Small-cap stocks took flight Friday, soaring amid a huge rally in the U.S. dollar, which helped deflate commodity prices, thereby brightening the inflation picture. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) jumped 20.89, or 2.93% to 734.30, notching the eighth-largest one-day gain of the year.

The U.S. dollar jumped 318 basis points, or more than 2% against the euro, which lifted the greenback to the highest daily close since late February. With many of the world’s key commodity markets priced in dollar terms, a strengthening buck often pulls down physical markets because they become more expensive to purchase. A great case in point is the crude oil market, which collapsed 4% Friday, slipping to $115.20 dollars a barrel. Crude oil prices are now down 21% from the record highs set in July – and remember, a 20% decline off the highs is recognized as entering bear market territory. After consumers had to fork out more than $4 dollars a gallon for gasoline at times this summer, a bear market in energy would be a welcome relief to pocketbooks. That relief extends to the grocery store as well, where soaring commodity prices were also biting into consumer spending capabilities. Corn prices hit a 5-month low today, and the Commodity Research Bureau Index, which tracks 19 commodities markets, tumbled to 4-month lows.

The dramatic move in the dollar and in crude oil prices helped ease investor worries about the credit crisis moving back to the fore. Financial stocks were hammered during Thursday’s stock market decline, but fought back today, with the Financial Select SPDR rising 3.4% and the PHLX Banking Index rising 3.4% as well. Clearly, retailers smiled at the thought of a consumer who wasn’t in a dour mood from a trip to the gas station, as the S&P Retail Index jumped 6.2%. The story surrounding a reversal in commodities isn’t just one for the consumer, either; the downtrodden airline business embraced the slide in jet fuel costs with a hearty 8.3% surge on Friday. In fact, about the only equity sectors that weren’t in the plus column revolved around the commodities theme, with coal, gold, oil exploration, oil drillers and gas utilities all in the red...

Small caps spiked out of the gate and remained at lofty levels as oil slumped and the dollar climbed, taking the limelight off Fannie Mae’s staggering loss and lower-than-expected productivity gains.

At 12:47 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) soared 16.35, or 2.29% at 729.76, while the Dow crusaded 235.55, or 2.06%, to 11,666.98.

Oil has pulled back on the session as the dollar continues to stage a rally initially triggered by the ECB’s dovish comments Thursday. Talk that a damaged pipeline in Turkey could be fixed sooner than anticipated also pushed down crude. A barrel of crude oil slumped $3.58 to roughly $116 at midday. Oil has dropped as low as $115 during the session.

Today’s slide in crude is welcome as oil’s rise has zapped so much of consumers’ spending power, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy.

The greenback continues to make major strides against the euro and the yen. The dollar was roughly $1.50 versus the euro, marking major appreciation from the greenback’s close of $1.53 Thursday.

Small-cap stocks pushed higher in early trading, buoyed by a sharp rally in the U.S. dollar and a pullback in crude oil prices, which helped offset renews jitters about financial stocks after Thursday’s rout. At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 7.46, or 1.05% at 720.87.

The market is on notice once again about the credit crunch after American International Group (NYSE:AIG) reported huge debt write downs Thursday. Financial shares were starting out on a weak note today as well, pulled down by sloppy results from Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) as the government-sponsored mortgage lender missed the forecast and slashed dividends. FNM shares were off 15% shortly after the open and its sister company Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) was down 5%. Financial stocks were pounded Thursday and could be on the defensive again ahead of the weekend. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) was down 1.5% after an analyst downgrade.
 
The big story today is a dramatic rally in the U.S. dollar overnight, which exploded 1.5%, or more than 230 basis points against the euro. And although the extreme move versus the euro will capture the most attention, the greenback was busy flexing its muscles all over the world. For instance, the dollar made 17-month highs against the British pound, 11-month highs against the New Zealand kiwi, 12-month highs against the Canadian looney and 5-month highs against the Swiss franc...

Shares of PowerSecure International, Inc. (Nasdaq:POWR) are rocketing on high volume ahead of the opening bell after the energy management provider reported healthy second-quarter results after Thursday’s close that bested the consensus on Wall Street. The company posted a profit in the quarter compared to a loss in the same period last year and revenues surged 86% as the firm experienced strong gains across all business units.

Shares spiked 30%, or $1.84, to $7.91 ahead of the open. For detailed price information and recent news stories about PowerSecure International, click POWR. 

Anadigics Inc. (Nasdaq:ANAD), Advanced Battery Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:ABAT) and Knot Inc (Nasdaq:KNOT) are among the most actively traded companies in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.       

Also included among the results: Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:PGNX), Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:ARNA), Noble International (Nasdaq:NOBL), PowerSecure International Inc (Nasdaq:POWR), Magma Design Automation Inc (Nasdaq:LAVA) and Cytori Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:CYTX).    

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:     

Alto Palermo SA (Nasdaq:APSA), NDS GROUP PLC (Nasdaq:NNDS) and Red Lion Hotels Corp (Nasdaq:RLH) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: PowerSecure International Inc (Nasdaq:POWR), Rediff.com India Ltd (Nasdaq:REDF), Aceto Corp (Nasdaq:ACET), Stratus Properties Inc (Nasdaq:STRS), GTSI Corp (Nasdaq:GTSI) and E Com Ventures Inc (Nasdaq:ECMV).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

LCA Vision Inc (Nasdaq:LCAV), PowerSecure International Inc (Nasdaq:POWR) and Targanta Therapeutics Corp (Nasdaq:TARG) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Blue Phoenix Solutions (Nasdaq:BPHX), Naugatuck Valley Financial Corp (Nasdaq:NVSL), Monroe Bancorp (Nasdaq:MROE), Southern Cmnty Finl Corp (Nasdaq:SCMF), HEICO Corp (Nasdaq:HEI) and Rex Stores Corp (Nasdaq:RSC).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

After opening sharply lower, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM), along with other major indices, remains besieged midday Friday after the credit crisis continued to ravage Wall Street.

At 1:45 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 was down 1.91, or 0.27%, at 717.64, while the Dow sunk 136.54, or 1.06%, to 12,730.24

Credit concerns were reignited after insurance juggernaut AIG (NYSE:AIG) reported a record loss after Thursday’s close, signaling that outside of Wall Street credit conditions have tightened further and the credit tempest isn’t showing signs of letting up.

“[AIG’s earnings] underscore that the credit crunch is ongoing,” said Andy Busch, foreign exchange strategist for BMO Capital Markets, in an interview. “I think we had gone through a period in which the earnings didn’t seem so bad and [now] we are getting earnings that are much larger as far as write downs go. People get nervous … when you have an earnings shock to any company.”

Compounding concerns, oil continued its skyward climb, hitting $126 a barrel midmorning on concerns that Venezuela could cut oil exports. Since then, oil has pulled back slightly to roughly $125 a barrel midday. Over the course of the . . .

Deltek Inc. (Nasdaq:PROJ), 3D Systems Corp. (Nasdaq:TDSC) and GeoEye Inc. (Nasdaq:GEOY) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Omega Protein Corp. (Nasdaq:OME), PowerSecure International Inc. (Nasdaq:POWR) and Knot Inc. (Nasdaq:KNOT) are also among the biggest percentage losers.

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks opened sharply lower, pressured by a renewal of the credit crisis fears and reeling from a dramatic surge in crude oil that could crimp consumer spending habits and weigh on sentiment. At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 4.43, or 0.62%, at 715.12.

Financial shares sparked a wave of overnight selling after American International Group (NYSE:AIG) released earnings that disappointed investors and renewed concerns about debt write-downs among financial institutions. AIG tumbled 5% on the regular opening (which was better than the overnight showing), and the largest bank Citigroup (NYSE:C) was basically flat — also not as bad as overnight action — as the CEO spoke at an investor meeting.

There also was talk of asset allocation plays being back in vogue this morning, with investors shifting money away from equities and into treasury products. The old stock market adage “sell in May and go away” appeared to have a life this first full week of May trading.

In a Goldman Sachs research report released overnight, analysts say that the underlying shock of mortgage credit defaults is large and “still has a ways to go.” Although they say that some of the markets that have been beaten down will normalize and create positive spillover on sentiment in the broader economy, they said that excess housing supply, acceleration of home price declines and over leverage in the U.S. housing market will not go away anytime soon.
 
“We believe that such losses (from over leverage) imply further adverse surprises for balance sheets in parts of the financial sector, with correspondingly adverse effects on lending and economic activity. The focus of the pain is likely to shift away from subprime mortgages, where the markets are already discounting very large losses, to other residential mortgage debt, including prime mortgages. This is one reason why we are expecting a renewed slowdown in economic activity after the stimulus-fueled bounce in mid- to late 2008. In turn, it makes us fairly confident that . . .

Shares of PowerSecure International, Inc. (Nasdaq: POWR) are falling following news after the close on Thursday of a disappointing fiscal 2008 profit outlook. The Wake Forest, N.C.-based provider of energy technology products and services expects net income of between $0.70 per share and $0.90 per share, below the consensus view of $0.97 per share.

At 11:24 a.m. ET, shares were down $1.46, or 11%, to $11.72.