Tag - Qdel

Calgon Carbon Corp. (Nasdaq:CCC), American Apparel Inc. (Nasdaq:APP) and BancTrust Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BTFG) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Lincoln Educational Services Corp. (Nasdaq:LINC), Quidel Corp. (Nasdaq:QDEL), Educational Development Corp. (Nasdaq:EDUC), Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq:CMTL), Koss Corp. (Nasdaq:KOSS) and Ocean Shore Holding Co. (Nasdaq:OSHC).

DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS), Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (Nasdaq:HSII) and Parexel International Corporation (Nasdaq:PRXL) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Astoria Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:AF), Quidel Corp. (Nasdaq:QDEL) and JAKKS Pacific Inc. (Nasdaq:JAKK) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Encore Wire Corp. (Nasdaq:WIRE), Omniture Inc. (Nasdaq:OMTR), CONMED Corp. (Nasdaq:CNMD), Benchmark Electronics Inc. (Nasdaq:BHE), Brown Shoe Company Inc. (Nasdaq:BWS) and Wesbanco Inc. (Nasdaq:WSBC).

Quidel Corp. (Nasdaq:QDEL), Data Domain Inc. (Nasdaq:DDUP) and Kensey Nash Corp. (Nasdaq:KNSY) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Quidel Corp. (Nasdaq:QDEL), StoneMor Partners LP (Nasdaq:STON) and Crawford Ord Shs Class B (Nasdaq:CRD.B) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Valhi Inc. (Nasdaq:VHI), Capella Education Co. (Nasdaq:CPLA), Data Domain Inc. (Nasdaq:DDUP), Auburn National Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:AUBN), Eagle Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:EGBN) and IntegraMed America Inc. (Nasdaq:INMD).

Hampton Roads Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq:HMPR), ATC Technology Corp. (Nasdaq:ATAC) and Central Valley Community Bancorp (Nasdaq:CVCY) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Encore Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:EBTX), DG FastChannel Inc. (Nasdaq:DGIT), Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:ALDN), Northrim BanCorp Inc. (Nasdaq:NRIM), Medtox Scientific Inc. (Nasdaq:MTOX) and Quidel Corp. (Nasdaq:QDEL).

Diagnostic solutions provider Quidel Corporation (Nasdaq:QDEL) is up 11% in today’s trading after posting better-than-expected second quarter results after the close on Wednesday. For the quarter ended June 30, Quidel reported a net loss of $0.5 million, or $0.02 per share, compared with a loss of $1.7 million, or $0.05 per share, for the same period a year ago. Global revenues increased $21.9 million from $18.6 million. Wall Street was expecting a net loss of $0.04 on revenues of $20 million.

In today’s trading, shares of San Diego-based Quidel are at $20.62 at 3:44 p.m. ET, up $2.11 from Wednesday’s close. Trading volume soared to more than 1 million shares, well above the average of about 200,000.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures have edged down and the small-cap index will most likely open with a small decline.

In economic news, the U.S. Labor Department announced this morning that jobless claims for the week ended March 15 increased 22,000 to 378,000.

The Russell 2000 stumbled late Wednesday, finishing down 17.81, or 2.61%, at 664.13, unable to sustain the updraft off Tuesday’s largest one-day gain of the year. In today’s action, support is at 660, then at 654, and critical support is at 650. With the U.S. markets closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday, a weekly close above 650 will be critical for the chart structure, and to keep investors uplifted by the recovery off the lows.

The market could see mild volatility into the opening Thursday. The bigger volatility risk comes at 10:00 a.m. ET with the release of Leading Indicators and the Philly Fed Survey.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures have retreated and the small-cap index will likely open in negative territory.

Investors appear ready to pull back slightly after the major U.S. indices posted major gains on Tuesday. That’s despite news this morning that Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) saw a decline in fiscal first-quarter net income but still beat expectations. Investment banks have come into focus following the emergency sale of Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC).

The Russell 2000 took flight Tuesday, notching the largest one-day gain of the year as investors embraced yet another reduction in benchmark interest rates by the FOMC. The small-cap barometer shot 31.45, or 4.84%, to 681.93. It’s a familiar refrain, as the market has had a tendency to rally on FOMC day – only to falter in the after wash. It should be interesting to see if this rally can grow legs.

There are no noteworthy economic releases or Fed speakers on tap today, which should free up the market to focus on routine fundamentals and to sift through the impact of Tuesday’s surge to see if there is more gas in the tank. The market poked through a little resistance spot late Tuesday at 680, and that is now immediate support. Below there, look for support at 674, then at 667 and 660. Resistance is at 684.50, and 695.

Many investors in Quidel Corporation (Nasdaq: QDEL) appear to have caught the short-sighted flu following Thursday’s release of disappointing fourth-quarter results and tossed the stock aside like a used Kleenex.

Shares of the San Diego-based health-care-testing maker plummeted 12% in after-hours trading to $16 on heavy volume Thursday. The stock didn’t fare much better Friday, opening at $16.24 and ending the day at $16.55.

The headline numbers culled from the Quidel press release made many investors ill: net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007 dropped to $8.1 million, or $0.25 per share, from $18.3 million, or $0.54 per share, the year before. Quarterly revenue also declined slightly, to just under $38 million from $38.8 million in the final quarter of 2006.

The diagnosis: a delay in the flu season cut into sales of Quidel’s test kits.

The consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected Quidel to post earnings of $0.27 a share, and revenue of $44.8 million.

While not a miss of epidemic proportions, it does leave Quidel investors wondering if this signals serious problems. Ahead of the release, Thomson Financial showed that two analysts rated Quidel a “buy,” one had it a “strong buy” and another had it at “hold.”

Still, it’s unlikely that analysts are going to significantly alter their view of Quidel going forward because of its failure to accurately calculate when the flu was going to strike hardest. Flu-test sales missing from last quarter are likely to show up in the current one, after the Centers for Disease Control reported Friday that the flu is “widespread” in 49 states.

Quidel’s specialty is rapid-diagnostic products at the point of care for infectious diseases and reproductive health. The company has developed a line of testing kits for the professional and consumer markets, including pregnancy, influenza, strep and Chlamydia, with many sold under its QuickVue brand. The Quidel products also are used in oncology and in testing for inflammatory diseases and bone health.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are a little higher and the small-cap index will likely open with a small rise.

There is no major economic news scheduled for today, but the Dallas Federal Reserve President’s speech at 1:30 p.m. ET is likely to make headlines.

Among small-cap companies, Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BLDP), which makes fuel cells, said that it expects to ship twice as many units in 2008, bringing in total revenues of between $65 million and $75 million.

Small-cap stocks staged a dramatic bearish reversal Thursday, as the Russell 2000 rejected a promising morning rise to shed 13.74, or 1.94% to 696.28 by the close. The market continues to reflect indecision within the recent range – unwilling to sustain a dynamic move in either direction.

The market will be able to navigate through today's session unencumbered by outside economic news. It will be interesting to see if the Russell starts to falter below the 700 swing line after four sessions of see-saw action along that point so far this week. Look for support Friday at 694, 688 and 680; resistance comes in at 703.50, 712 and 717.

 

These are the bigges percentage gainers at 10:36 ET among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million: