Tag - Srz

Stocks are down as of press time, 12:00 P.M. Eastern. The Dow is down 17.08 points at 9,263.89; the Nasdaq is at 1,979.74 and quickly retreating from it's Tuesday closing high of 2,009.40; and the S&P 500 is down below 998.82.  

Most active small-cap decliners in the morning session include Orthovita (Nasdaq:VITA) down 29%; Health Fitness Corporation (AMEX:FIT) down 26%; and Sunrise Senior Living (NYSE:SRZ) down 23%. 

Small-caps bucking the trend and actively rising include a former SmallCapInvestor.com PRO holding, SXC Health Solutions (Nasdaq:SXCI) up 28% on reporting Q2 2009 EPS numbers 41% higher than the year ago period and raising guidance for 2009 with an EPS of $1.70, up from $1.62.  

Other small-cap gainers in the morning session include Home Inns & Hotels Management (Nasdaq:HMIN) up 25% and Ambac Financial Group (NYSE:ABK).

*****Yesterday, the Challenger jobs report showed more jobs were lost in July than expected. It wasn't a big miss, but it was a miss. And after buyers stepped in early, the market's reaction wasn't a big one, either. By the end of the day, the Dow Industrials lost 30-some points.  

I've been pointing out how the market just doesn't seem to have much downside. Yesterday's job loss news wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't good. But investors stepped in and pushed stocks well off their lows.  

The Fed has made money cheap, and it's going into the stock market. There's been a lot of talk that there's a stock market bubble in China because investors there are putting money from government stimulus efforts into the stock market. Nobody's saying that about the U.S. stock market, but that is what's happening. 

This is the "false trend" I was referring to with the George Soros quote from the other day. We should understand that this trend will most likely be proved false at some point. The question is, when? 

*****Today, jobless claims came in lower than expected. That's going to put stocks on better footing. Of course, continuing claims rose. But investors are having the sense that the U.S. economy is stabilizing, so they are buying stocks.   

In my Recovery Portfolio, I'm about to lock in a virtually risk-free 14% gain on drug maker Wyeth (NYSE:WYE). Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) announced that it would acquire Wyeth on January 6 in cash and stock deal. I bought Wyeth when Pfizer stock was low. My purchase price was essentially locked in by the acquisition terms. There was nothing but upside. And as Pfizer has recovered along with the market, my investment in Wyeth has done well.  

If you'd like to learn about the "aggressive approach to conservative investing" that's driving my Recovery Portfolio, please click here. 

*****Cisco (Nasdaq:CSCO) CEO John Chambers is one of the best CEOs there are. He's a straight-shooter, telling investors "…not to get too far ahead of themselves…" concerning Cisco's earnings report and forecast.  

In a nutshell, the last quarter was pretty good for Cisco, but the company still faces challenges. His advice is valid for all investors. Just check the retail sales data out this morning. The economy may be stabilizing, but retail is experiencing challenges. Sales were down around 5% across the board. And that trend has been in place for months.  

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.  

******Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner claims the government made a 23% profit on its bailout of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). Now, Morgan Stanley is about to buy back a warrant it sold the government for $950 million.  

There's no word what the government's profit is on this, but there should be no doubt that there is one. And that's how it should be, so far as I'm concerned.  

If these banks need money, the government shouldn't be a lender of last resort. It's an investor, and should be rewarded. And don't forget, favorable government policies are allowing banks to profit. So again, the government should be rewarded for the risk it takes.  

*****Yesterday, my first monthly column appeared in The Burlington Free Press, the daily newspaper in the state of Vermont. The first column is Investing in Vermont: Profits await clean energy investors. In this column I discuss investing in the clean energy sector, and offer readers three ideas - including two mutual funds and one ETF. You can read the column by clicking here.  

*****The Managed America web video conference is coming up next Monday, August 10 at 6:00 P.M. It's free to attend and you can register right now. Click here to register for this free online event.  

Ian Wyatt

Editor

Daily Profit 

P.S. Don't forget that with tomorrow's edition we'll once again bring back Jason Cimpl, lead technical analyst from TradeMaster Daily Stock Alerts to give you his assessment on the market and his call for next week's trades. You can catch a replay of last Friday's video: click here.

Stocks reversed early gains today as the second quarter comes to a close with more of a whimper than a bang. Jobless rates remain high in major metropolitan areas with the Labor Department reporting today that rates rose for this past May against the year ago same period in all 372 metropolitan areas that it tracks. Areas hit hardest include those with major manufacturing centers that feed into housing construction. While overall U.S. unemployment climbed to 9.4 percent in May, hardest hit is El Centro, California with a 26.8 percent rate. |

Consumer Confidence Report numbers, as reported by the Conference Board, further the fear on Wall Street as investors had expected the numbers to hold steady from April and May gains, however the index for June stands at just 49.3, down from 54.8 in May.

All of the major U.S. markets were down today with the Dow closing at 8,448, the Nasdaq trimmed by half a percent to 1,835, and the S&P 500 giving up 8 points to close at 919.

The Russell 2000, a composite index of the 2,000 largest small-cap stocks, closed down today at 501, for a loss of 1 percent.

Bright spots among small-cap stocks were lead by Annapolis Bancorp (Nasdaq:ANNB) up 38% to close the day at $3.80; Novavax (Nasdaq:NVAX) up 31% on news that Spanish pharmaceutical company Rovi will use Novavax's "Virus Like Particle" technology in the development of a vaccine for H1N1, also known as "swine flu"; LightPath Technologies (Nasdaq:LPTH) up 27%; Plumas Bancorp (Nasdaq:PLBC) up 25%; and Jacksonville Bancorp (Nasdaq:JXSB) up 23%.

While small-cap financial showed leadership today, large cap financial stocks like Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HBC), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) were down or up less than one-tenth of one percent.

The leader in small-cap price decliners was Cubic Energy (AMEX:QBC), down 30% on ongoing debt concerns with Wells Fargo Energy Capital. Cubic Energy was followed by Raser Technologies (NYSE:RZ), down 27%; Sunrise Senior Living (NYSE:SRZ), down 23%; and Northeast Bancorp (Nasdaq:NBN), down 21%.

*****If today had a lot going on then yesterday was downright boring. On Monday, around 10:30 AM, the S&P 500 rose above 924. By 12:30 PM, it rose to 927.99. Ignore the first hour of trading (when the S&P 500 made a comparatively wild 8-point swing), and the S&P 500 was confined to a 4-point range for 5 ½ hours.

Days like this make watching paint dry sound exciting. And as I'm typing this note, it's down about 1.3%.

And TradeMaster technical analyst Jason Cimpl tells me it could be like this all week as we head into a holiday weekend. If you want to catch a replay of his video that gives insights into this week's market direction just visit here. (or go to trademasterstocks.com/videoreport)

Great. But that's summer trading for you…

*****The Case-Shiller home price index, which measures home prices in 20 U.S. cities, showed that home prices fell 18.1% in April. And that was better than expected!

Of course, the index was only half a percentage point better, which most likely falls within the margin for error. Still, the results prompted the senior economist at Wachovia, Mark Vitner, to say "It is looking a bit better…[t]he largest declines are probably past."

And David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee said, "While one month's data cannot determine if a turnaround has begun, it seems that some stabilization may be appearing in some of the regions…"

*****At first glance, these comments might seem a little, um, out of touch with reality. After all, how can anyone think that an 18% decline in home values is good?

The reason is that its foreclosure sales that are driving the Case-Shiller Index lower. Close to 5 million seized homes may be sold this year. To add some color, according to Bloomberg, 73% of all home and condo sales in Las Vegas in May were foreclosure re-sales.

73% -- that is an amazing number. And because these homes get sold at fire-sale prices, the affect on the overall housing market is dramatic.

*****That foreclosed homes are finding new owners is what's prompting economists to say prices may be stabilizing. And once prices stabilize, then the erosion of household wealth stops. And, then, maybe consumer spending picks up.

At least that's how the story goes...

There are some problems with this rosy scenario. Falling home and stock values claimed around $13.9 trillion in household wealth since 1997. That means there's a long way to go just to get back to break even. But with unemployment expected to persist above 7% for the next couple of years, where is the buying pressure for homes and the earnings power for public companies going to come from?

It's easy to imagine investors buying foreclosed property at discounted prices. But that doesn't mean the same level of demand exists for regular home sales. In fact, I'd go so far as to say there's no way demand for homes will be sustained beyond foreclosure sales.

*****Banks are taking losses as they clear bad mortgage loans from their books. That means banks will have room to make more loans - but will people want them?

Again, I suspect not.

That means banks will struggle to make up the losses and keep earnings growing. And with earnings season right around the corner (Alcoa (NYSE:AA) kicks earnings season off on July 7) investors should be on their toes.

P.S. A reader sent in an email yesterday asking about China and whether it's a good time to get back in. After last year's sell-off Chinese stocks are moving back up. If you missed the first China bull, this is your second chance. I've just finished a stock research report on 3 China-based stocks that every investor should have in his or her portfolio. Find out more here.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) pushed 2.3% higher on Wednesday and is now down 38% for the year, while the Dow is down 34% for 2008 and the S&P 500 is down 39%. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are American Land Lease (NYSE:ANL), Atlas Pipeline Holding (NYSE:AHD) and Ann Taylor Stores (NYSE:ANN).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The MBA Mortgage Application Index came out this morning, and showed a mild dip off last week’s record advance when the index doubled.
• The wholesale inventory report came out at minus 1.1%, which was quite a bit worse than the forecast for a drop of 0.1%.
• The top-performing sectors were dominated by commodities: coal, gold, oil and gas drillers, aluminum, metal and mining shares were all up.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund rallied 5%, far outpacing the rest of the market.
• Financial shares were a drag on the bullish party, as concerns about the credit crisis and tight lending continue to be in play.
• Today’s three-year note auction came in at a higher-than-expected yield, which provided some relief to stocks overall.

Small Cap Gainers:

• American Land Lease Inc. (NYSE:ANL) gapped higher on news that the real estate investment trust was being bought at a huge premium to previous capitalization. ANL shares stormed 221% higher on the news.
• Atlas Pipeline Holding LP (NYSE:AHD) rallied 45% to close above the 20-day moving average for the first time since late September.
• Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (NYSE:ANN) jumped 20% and itself closed above . . .

Small-cap stocks finished off one of the worst months in history with a four-day rally fueled by improving credit conditions, month-end bargain hunting and a willingness by investors to look beyond current weak economic fundamentals. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 4.53%. Today’s small-cap gainers are SM&A (Nasdaq:WINS), MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) and Gramercy Capital (NYSE:GKK).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Russell is now down 30% for the year. The Dow is down 30% for 2008, while the S&P 500 is off 34%. 
• Financial stocks played a key role in the rally today, after lagging on some bounce attempts earlier in the week. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund rose 3.3%.
• Small- and mid-cap banks and financial institutions were noted all along the top percentage movers today on various exchanges. 
• Crude oil prices rallied in the final 30 minutes of trading today, but gains in the commodity arena were hampered by a firm tone in the U.S. dollar, which gained about 1.3% against the euro.

Small Cap Gainers:

• SM&A jumped 126% on news that the firm will be purchased by Odyssey Investment Partners for $6.25 a share. See (Nasdaq:WINS).
• Wisconsin Energy to replace MGIC Investment in S&P 500. MGIC shares closed up over 60%. See (NYSE:MTG).
• Gramercy Capital reported 34% Q3 rise in funds from operations, halts dividends. Shares closed up 79%. See (NYSE:GKK).  
• Sonic Automotive reported losses in Q3 but shares closed up a whopping 41%. See (NYSE:SAH).
• China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. gapped higher and soared 27%. See (NYSE:CEA).

Small Cap Losers:

• Penson Worldwide Inc. closed down 40% on news that a subsidiary has incurred a $15.5M unsecured receivable from a firm that has ceased operations. See (Nasdaq:PNSN).
• Bare Escentuals Inc. gapped lower and shed some 40% on soft earnings news. See (Nasdaq:BARE).  
• Sunrise Senior Living announces transaction has been terminated. Shares . . .

Small-cap stocks staged an impressive rally into midday trading, bolstered by signs of thawing in the credit market freeze, month-end bargain hunting and a renewed appetite for riskier market bets amid hope that the October collapse in equities has already priced in the worst of the economic news. Today’s small-cap gainers are Delta Petroleum (Nasdaq:DPTR), US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE:LCC) and China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. (NYSE:CEA).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• On the radar screen for this afternoon’s trading is an appearance by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who will talk about the mortgage market and the economy.  
• Looking ahead to next week, the market will get a douse of several key economic indicators, including the big employment report a week from today. 
• Today's reports on personal income, the employment cost index and consumer sentiment were rather tame and clearly overshadowed by enthusiasm that October is coming to an end.  
• Inter-bank lending rates have tumbled to the 3% zone, down some 14 consecutive trading sessions, and well off the peak above 5% at the beginning of October.  
• The top-performing sector so far today has been casinos, followed up by homebuilders, semiconductor equipment, airlines, insurance brokers, construction materials and wireless telecoms.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Delta Petroleum up 10% on Kerkorian Plan to increase holdings. See (Nasdaq:DPTR).
• US Airways Group Inc. is rallying 11% and hit the highest price since March. See (NYSE:LCC).  
• China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. gapped higher and soared 27%. See (NYSE:CEA).  
• United Stationers Q3 profit rises on higher sales, one-time gains. Shares are treading 17% higher. See (Nasdaq:USTR).  


Small Cap Losers:

• Protective Life Corp. down 20% on higher-than-average volume. See (NYSE:PL). 
• CommScope Q3 profit rises; sees Q4 revenue below consensus; cuts FY08 revenue outlook. Shares are slumping 26%. See (NYSE:CTV).  
• Flagstar Bancorp clocks a loss in 2008 Q3 results; shares dive 26%. See (NYSE:FBC).
• Sunrise Senior Living announces transaction has been terminated. Shares are down 34%. See (NYSE:SRZ).  

Small caps collapsed today, setting fresh intraday and closing lows. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 5%, the lowest daily close since Aug. 2003. Today’s small-cap gainers are Dineequity (Nasdaq:DIN), Penn National Gaming (Nasdaq:PENN) and Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq:RVBD).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Small caps continue to be punished relative to their large-cap brethren as the bear market incites a “bigger is better” mentality.
• The Russell 2000 is now down 41% for 2008, while the Dow is off 38% and the S&P 500 is down 42%.
• Just a few weeks ago, the percentage spread favored the Russell over the Dow by more than 10 percentage points, but when the market went into collapse mode small caps suffered.
• The dollar stormed to fresh highs against the euro today, reaching the highest point since April 2006.
• Commodities have already been tanking in recent weeks, putting commodity sensitive economies like those in South America and Russia in a dire position. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Dineequity Inc. closed up 54% on surprisingly stout earnings news. See (NYSE:DIN).
• Penn National Gaming closed up nearly 5% after Q3 EPS vaulted on settlement payment, raises 2008 earnings guidance. See (Nasdaq:PENN). 
• UBS raises Riverbed Technology to “neutral” from “sell.” Shares closed up 5%. See (Nasdaq:RVBD). 

Small Cap Losers:

• Savient Pharmaceuticals paced the decliners, closing down some 73% and gapping lower on heavy volume. See (Nasdaq:SVNT). 
• Sunrise Senior Living Inc. tumbled 32% to fresh 52-week lows. See (NYSE:SRZ).
• Telefonica De Argentina closed down 22% as South American ADRs continue to struggle amid pension fund troubles in Argentina and worries about the sharp drop in commodity values. See (NYSE:TAR). 

Small-cap stocks extended the bear market collapse on Monday, setting fresh intraday and closing lows for the move as investor fear of risk amid a global meltdown took a toll on smaller companies. A positive surprise on new home sales helped take some of the edge off the bearish tone, but it wasn’t enough to douse a late flash of selling fire in the small-cap universe. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 22.72, or 4.82%, at 448.40, the lowest daily close since August 2003.

Small caps continue to be punished relative to their large-cap brethren as the bear market incites a “bigger is better” mentality among the few speculators willing to take on equity risk at this stage of the economic cycle. The Russell 2000 is now down 41% for 2008, while the Dow is off 38% and the S&P 500 is down 42%. Just a few weeks ago, the percentage spread favored the Russell over the Dow by more than 10 percentage points, but when the market went into collapse mode small caps suffered on a perception that they represent even riskier fare than big corporations.

Along that line of thought, it makes sense that when the market does find a bottom, it will probably take place first in the large-cap universe, then small caps will likely once again start to outperform on the way back up, just like they did once the market pulled out of the 2000 through 2001 economic recession. From a chart perspective, there are still no signs of a bottom in the Russell 2000, but it’s worth noting that even though small caps are at new move lows, the Dow and S&P 500 are still above the Oct. 10 trough (although the late collapse Monday put the S&P 500 on the doorstep of that low). There is also a powerful seasonal for major lows to be set in the month of October, and there are theories sprouting that once the month-end redemptions play out this final week of the month that bargain-hunters will be prominent . . .

Seabridge Gold Inc. (Nasdaq:SA), Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (Nasdaq:SRZ) and Winnebago Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:WGO) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Badger Meter Inc. (Nasdaq:BMI), Independence Holding Co. (Nasdaq:IHC), Atlantic Coast Federal Corp. (Nasdaq:ACFC), Temple-Inland Inc. (Nasdaq:TIN), Amcore Financial Inc. (Nasdaq:AMFI) and Interoil Corp. (Nasdaq:IOC).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Protective Life Corp. (Nasdaq:PL), Student Loan Corp. (Nasdaq:STU) and Horace Mann Educators Corp. (Nasdaq:HMN) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Max Capital Group Ltd. (Nasdaq:MXGL), Independence Holding Co. (Nasdaq:IHC), Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (Nasdaq:EYE), Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq:PKOH), Calamos Asset Management Inc. (Nasdaq:CLMS) and Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (Nasdaq:SRZ).

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

Small-cap stocks proved that Friday’s failure in the afterglow of the financial rescue plan was no quirk as the Russell 2000 snapped key psychological support at 600 at the same time that the Dow breached the big 10,000 benchmark. At 1:29 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 32.95, or 5.32%, at 586.45, the lowest level since May 2005.

Today’s slide has been remarkable so far not just for the severity of the decline, but also for the broad-based nature of the move. At midday, not one single broad S&P sector group was in positive territory though there were a stunning 10 groups with losses beyond 10%. While the steepest losses were tied to commodity themes, financial shares were also getting hammered with the Financial Select Sector SPDR sinking more than 5% and the PHLX KBW Banking Index down more than 7%.

The U.S. dollar was on a roll against the euro, rising to 13-month highs, but the strong dollar also makes commodities priced in dollar terms more expensive (although clearly the bigger concern was tied to demand worries amid a global downturn). The Commodity Research Bureau Index was down 3.8% at mid-session to the lowest point in more than 12 months. Corn, cotton and cattle futures all collapsed down their daily trading limits on futures markets, and the commodity most equities traders keep an eye on — crude oil — was off some $4 a barrel to some eight-month lows.

Looking at stock market sectors, oil and gas drillers were getting drilled, steel stocks were hammered, oil refinery shares were slippery, coal stocks were getting burned and even metal and mining stocks were caving in. The U.S. dollar was up more than 2% against the euro, or a stunning 289 basis points. Unfortunately, the rally in the greenback versus the euro was more a reflection of worries about the eurozone economy than strength in the U.S. market. The euro/yen currency cross was down a mind-boggling 6.2%, or some 900 bps, which borders on the absurd for . . .

First Defiance Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:FDEF), TBS International Ltd. (Nasdaq:TBSI) and Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:EGLE) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (Nasdaq:SRZ), Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:SCHN), Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (Nasdaq:EXM), Omega Navigation Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:ONAV), Compton Petroleum Corp. (Nasdaq:CMZ) and Paragon Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:PRGN).

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

Kenexa Corp. (Nasdaq:KNXA), InterDigital Inc. (Nasdaq:IDCC) and US Global Investors Inc. (Nasdaq:GROW) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Eagle Rock Energy Partners L.P (Nasdaq:EROC), Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (Nasdaq:SRZ), Internet Initiative Japan Depository Receipt (Nasdaq:IIJI), WNS Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:WNS), MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:MAPP) and MAXXAM Inc. (Nasdaq:MXM).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Until recently, Capital Senior Living Corp. (NYSE: CSU) might have been considered a dull and steady company in a dull and steady field: senior living communities and assisted living. To borrow a well-worn phrase from a 1971 book title, that was then, this is now.

The first children of the first great Baby Boom are just now starting to turn 60, and can hardly call themselves Baby-anything. At the same time, their parents are living longer, now into their late 70s and up into their 80s or beyond. This puts Capital Senior Living in what is a secular growth spot.

Capital Senior Living has a business that aims to allow people to “age in place,” so to speak, and it is a small enough company that many investors are not familiar with the name. It operates retirement-age residential communities, and also offers assisted living and home care services. It operates 64 senior living communities in 23 states with a combined capacity of 9,500 residents. Capital Senior owns or has ownership interest in 37 of these senior living communities, while 24 are leased communities. The company manages three communities for third parties.

Nearly three-fourths of the residents of the communities operated by the Capital Senior Living live independently, while 24% require assistance to daily living and 2% require skilled nursing. The company is not immune to hurricane or earthquake damage with its Gulf Coast and California properties, but it is spread out enough across nearly half of the states in the United States to absorb much of any such disruptions.