Tag - Skh

Matrixx Initiatives (Nasdaq:MTXX), Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SKH) and Callaway Golf Co. (Nasdaq:ELY) are among the new 52-week lows in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Amrep Corp. (Nasdaq:AXR), Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SKH) and S&T Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:STBA) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SKH), National Penn Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:NPBC) and Amrep Corp. (Nasdaq:AXR) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

National Penn Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:NPBC), S&T Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:STBA) and Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SKH) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Hooker Furniture Corp. (Nasdaq:HOFT), Old Second Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:OSBC) and Citi Trends Inc. (Nasdaq:CTRN) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Pantry Inc. (Nasdaq:PTRY), Neutral Tandem Inc. (Nasdaq:TNDM), Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SKH), AirTran Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AAI), Flexsteel Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:FLXS) and Volt Information Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq:VOL).

Williams Controls Inc. (Nasdaq:WMCO), Monroe Bancorp (Nasdaq:MROE) and First California Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:FCAL) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Encore Wire Corp. (Nasdaq:WIRE), K12 Inc. (Nasdaq:LRN), Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SKH), Firstbank Corp. (Nasdaq:FBMI), Radware Ltd. (Nasdaq:RDWR) and John Bean Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq:JBT).

Small-cap stocks hovered near steady levels on the opening, outperforming the Dow and S&P 500 early on as investors took a cautious stance waiting on a smorgasbord of news events out of Washington today. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.60, or 0.13%, at 468.54.

Investors are waiting for the final rollout of the bank bailout plan today from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, although quite a few of the details have started to leak out. Bank stocks were lower to start things today, but have been in rally mode lately in anticipation of the news.

In addition to the bank rescue plan, the market is waiting to hear about the Senate vote on the Obama Administration’s stimulus bill. A vote is expected at some point today, possibly in the midday time frame. Last night President Obama addressed the nation to talk about the plan and to implore Senate Republicans not to take a hard partisan stance.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the market also will get a chance to respond to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who will testify about the financial crisis today before the House Financial Services Committee. Bernanke headlines will likely start to flow around 1:00 p.m. ET.

There were a couple of minor economic reports out this morning, with the Johnson Redbook chain store sales report up 0.5% for February-to-date numbers. Meanwhile, the wholesale inventories report came in at minus 1.4%, which was a bigger drop than forecast. Neither report appeared to have much of an impact on the market, as investors are much more preoccupied trying to decipher whether or not the bank bail out and fiscal stimulus plans will spark a rally in the market.

One area of strength today came from the energy arena, with energy stocks up about 0.6% shortly after the open. Energy shares gathered some support from a rally in crude oil prices, which climbed about $1.60 a barrel amid talk from OPEC . . .

Small-cap stocks hovered near steady levels on the opening, outperforming the Dow and S&P 500 early on as investors took a cautious stance waiting on a smorgasbord of news events out of Washington today. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (NYSE:SKH), SuccessFactors Inc. (Nasdaq:SFSF) and Flamel Technologies SA (Nasdaq:FLML).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Asian stocks were mixed, with China shares finding support as inflation data eased and supported hopes for a rate cut out of the central bank.   
• Energy shares gathered some support from a rally in crude oil prices, which climbed about $1.60 a barrel.  
• The wholesale inventories report came in at minus 1.4%, which was a bigger drop than forecast.  
• Bank stocks were lower to start things today, but have been in rally mode lately in anticipation of the bailout news.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. gapped higher and was up 16%, receiving an earnings-related boost. See (NYSE:SKH).  
• SuccessFactors Inc. climbed 11% as the management solutions software firm reported earnings. See (Nasdaq:SFSF).  
• Flamel Technologies SA rose 9% as the French biopharma firm climbed to the highest level since early December without any apparent fresh news behind the move. See (Nasdaq:FLML).  
• GT Solar rises over 6% in pre-market after reporting results for fiscal year 2009 third quarter. See (Nasdaq:SOLR).

Small Cap Losers:

• Ladish Co. fell 17% as the aerospace metals component maker also had an adverse reaction to quarterly figures. See (Nasdaq:LDSH).  
• Haynes International Inc. gapped lower and tumbled 18% as the nickel and cobalt manufacturer took a hit after releasing quarterly results. See (Nasdaq:HAYN).  
• Zoltek falls 12% in pre-market after reporting first-quarter results. See (Nasdaq:ZOLT).  
• Cubist Plans to commence patent infringement litigation against Teva Parenteral Medicines in response to ANDA filing. Shares of CBST drop 14.4% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:CBST).

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Tuesday, recapturing all of Monday’s decline as the market continues to gyrate in a sideways consolidation range on light holiday volume. The market started out on a firm note tied to an extension of the Treasury’s automaker bailout, and never looked back. Today's small-cap percentage gainers are: Grand Canyon Education (Nasdaq:LOPE), CH Energy Group (NYSE:CHG), and Force Protection (Nasdaq:FRPT).

Other Market Watch highlights included:

• For now, volume is thinned out by the holiday, and it is best not to make too much of the tame price action.  
• However, if the market starts to trade sideways for too long without managing a push through upside resistance, then it will simply look like a new lower ceiling.  
• For the most part, the sideways action is consistent with a bottoming process off the massive bear market collapse.  
• The chart picture remains stuck in a sideways consolidation pattern.  
• The market started out on a firm note tied to an extension of the Treasury’s automaker bailout, and never looked back

Small Cap Gainers:

• Among today's small-cap 52-wk highs: Grand Canyon Education, CH Energy Group, Force Protection, Rochester Medical and South Jersey Industries. See (Nasdaq:LOPE, NYSE:CHG, Nasdaq:FRPT, Nasdaq:ROCM, NYSE:SJI ) 
• Franklin Street Properties Corp is up 9.2% after news late Monday it will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 after Wednesday's close. See (NYSE:FSP)  
• Beauty products company Elizabeth Arden Inc. is up 9.1% to $11.71 after Wedbush Morgan upgrade to "Buy" from "Hold," with a $15 price target. See (Nasdaq:RDEN)  

Small Cap Losers:

• Among today's small-cap 52-wk lows: Skilled Healthcare Group, Blue Square Israel Ltd, and Take-Two Interactive Software. (See NYSE:SKH, NYSE:BSI, Nasdaq:TTWO) 
• Biopharma company Maxygen, Inc., which focuses on developing improved versions of protein drugs, is down 10.4% to $8.11. See (Nasdaq:MAXY)  
• Boutique investment banking firm Evercore Partners is down 8.7% to $12.05 after Keefe Bruyette downgrade to "Market Perform" from "Outperform." See (NYSE:EVR) 

Skilled Healthcare Group Inc (Nasdaq:SKH), Blue Square-Israel ADR (Nasdaq:BSI) and WNS Holdings Ltd (Nasdaq:WNS) are among the new 52-week lows in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Small-cap stocks pushed higher into mid-session, lifted by gains in technology stocks, retailers, homebuilders and insurers, which more than countered weakness in commodity names. Today's small-cap percentage gainers are : Grand Canyon Education (Nasdaq:LOPE), CH Energy Group (NYSE:CHG), and Force Protection (Nasdaq:FRPT).

Other Market Watch highlights included:

• Retailer shares were on the rise today, with the S&P Retail Index up 2.0%.  
• Homebuilders were once again attracting buyers after several days of setbacks. The ISE Homebuilder Index was up 3.7%, handily outpacing the overall market advance.
• The best performers: commercial printers, auto parts suppliers, chemical companies, office electronics firms, wireless telecoms, motorcycle manufacturers, life health insurers and tire companies.  
• A better-than-expected showing on Midwest manufacturing kept all the fresh economic news from being awful, and even that number was still historically low. 
• The market was able to weather another batch of troubling data on the economy, with home prices generating the largest decline on record and consumer confidence sinking to a record low.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Among today's small-cap 52-wk highs: Grand Canyon Education, CH Energy Group, Force Protection, Rochester Medical and South Jersey Industries. See (Nasdaq:LOPE, NYSE:CHG, Nasdaq:FRPT, Nasdaq:ROCM, NYSE:SJI ) 
• Franklin Street Properties Corp is up 9.2% after news late Monday it will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 after Wednesday's close. See (NYSE:FSP)  
• Beauty products company Elizabeth Arden Inc. is up 9.1% to $11.71 after Wedbush Morgan upgrade to "Buy" from "Hold," with a $15 price target. See (Nasdaq:RDEN)  

Small Cap Losers:

• Among today's small-cap 52-wk lows: Skilled Healthcare Group, Blue Square Israel Ltd, and Take-Two Interactive Software. (See NYSE:SKH, NYSE:BSI, Nasdaq:TTWO) 
• Biopharma company Maxygen, Inc., which focuses on developing improved versions of protein drugs, is down 10.4% to $8.11. See (Nasdaq:MAXY)  
• Boutique investment banking firm Evercore Partners is down 8.7% to $12.05 after Keefe Bruyette downgrade to "Market Perform" from "Outperform." See (NYSE:EVR) 

Small-cap stocks started out the final week of this year’s trading on a somber note, as familiar worries about the economy, spending and the credit crisis sparked selling from a holiday-reduced pool of investors. A decline in financial, retail and homebuilder shares was more than enough to cancel out gains for commodity stocks, especially since much of the rise in commodities was fueled by safe-haven and risk bid flows—and not by improved fundamentals. Today's small-cap percentage gainers are Linn Energy LLC (Nasdaq:LINE), Northwest Pipe Co. (Nasdaq:NWPX), and BPZ Resources (NYSE:BPZ).

Other Market Watch highlights included:

•    Yields on six-month bills were going for about 5% back in August 2007; today’s high yield was 0.25%.  
•    The Treasury auctioned off $27 billion in six-month bills Monday, and the result was the lowest yield in history on auctions that date back to the 1930s.  
•    Much of the rise in commodities was fueled by safe-haven and risk bid flows—and not by improved fundamentals.  
•    A decline in financial, retail and homebuilder shares was more than enough to cancel out gains for commodity stocks.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Linn Energy LLC gapped higher and was showing a gain of 19% after a bullish article in Barron’s. See (Nasdaq:LINE).
• Northwest Pipe Co., which makes welded steel pipes, was up 13.2% to $37.65. See (Nasdaq:NWPX).  
• Flow-measurement product maker Badger Meter up 11% to $33.64. See (NYSE:BMI)
• BPZ Resources, formerly known as BPZ Energy, up 10.5% to $5.39 after announcing increases in oil reserves at the Corvina Field. See (NYSE:BPZ)  


Small Cap Losers:

• Among today's other 52-wk lows: Skilled Healthcare Group, Minerals Technologies Inc. and Dionex Corp. See (NYSE:SKH, NYSE:MTX, and Nasdaq:DNEX)
• Real estate investment trust Macerich Company down 15% to $17.23. See (NYSE:MAC).   
• Riverbed Technology, Inc. down 13% to $9.93 after Wedbush Morgan downgrade to "Hold" from "Buy" See(Nasdaq:RVBD)  
• ATC Technology Corp., a vehicle remanufacturing and logistics company, hit a new year-low of $12.37. See (Nasdaq:ATAC) 

Small-cap stocks extended the morning slide into midday action, with losses in financial, homebuilder, technology and retail stocks more than offsetting gains in energy and mining shares. Today's small-cap percentage gainers are Linn Energy LLC (Nasdaq:LINE), Northwest Pipe Co. (Nasdaq:NWPX), and Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI).

Other Market Watch highlights included:

• Although today’s slide in small caps looks ugly from a performance standpoint, it really does very little to alter a relatively tame, sideways chart structure.  
• Technology shares failed to gain traction, even though tech stocks were decent performers overnight in Asia on a burst of M&A activity.  
• Ongoing concerns about the economy and credit crunch weighed on financial and bank stocks, with small banks and financial firms dominating the list of percentage losers.  
• Losses in financial, homebuilder, technology and retail stocks were more than offsetting gains in energy and mining shares. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Linn Energy LLC gapped higher and was showing a gain of 19% after a bullish article in Barron’s. See (Nasdaq:LINE).
• Northwest Pipe Co., which makes welded steel pipes, was up 13.2% to $37.65. See (Nasdaq:NWPX).  
• Flow-measurement product maker Badger Meter up 11% to $33.64. See (NYSE:BMI)
• BPZ Resources, formerly known as BPZ Energy, up 10.5% to $5.39 after announcing increases in oil reserves at the Corvina Field. See (NYSE:BPZ)  

Small Cap Losers:

• Among today's other 52-wk lows: Skilled Healthcare Group, Minerals Technologies Inc. and Dionex Corp. See (NYSE:SKH, NYSE:MTX, and Nasdaq:DNEX)
• Real estate investment trust Macerich Company down 15% to $17.23. See (NYSE:MAC).   
• Riverbed Technology, Inc. down 13% to $9.93 after Wedbush Morgan downgrade to "Hold" from "Buy" See(Nasdaq:RVBD)  
• ATC Technology Corp., a vehicle remanufacturing and logistics company, hit a new year-low of $12.37. See (Nasdaq:ATAC) 

Providing skilled nursing care for elderly people is all about compassion, but the business of it is mean-hearted. That makes it tough on Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (NYSE: SKH), who, try as it might, has an industrial-strength headache that will be hard to shake.

While not as dismaying as the aging process itself, the late-life care industry is a dumbfounding maze of government programs, bureaucracies, regulations, licenses, litigation, labor shortages and costs, costs and more costs. There are enough risks in Skilled Healthcare’s annual report to be listed alphabetically. The scariest are under “M” — Medicare, Medicaid, and Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program.

The president’s proposed 2009 budget seeks to reduce spending on Medicare by $183 billion over five years. The budget, sent to Congress in February, would freeze payments to skilled nursing facilities and reduce payments to these facilities by $17 billion over five years.

That’s bad news for Skilled Healthcare: Medicare generated 37% of its 2007 revenues, and Medicaid supplied 31%. Medicare has often been revised, offering no firm footing for revenues in the future. “Limits on reimbursement rates or the scope of services being reimbursed could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, financial condition and results of operations,” the company said in its 2007 annual report issued in late February.

Skilled Healthcare also expects continuing cost containment pressures on Medicaid outlays for skilled nursing facilities, both in the states in which it operates and by the federal government. The cuts may be direct decreases in reimbursement rates or in rule changes that limit the beneficiaries, services or providers eligible to receive benefits.