Tag - Tthi

Small-cap stocks edged lower Friday, pulled down by the logjam in Washington as lawmakers were at loggerheads longer than expected putting together a rescue plan for the embattled financial arena. Still, a rally in the final hour of trading pared losses for small caps, and lifted the Dow into a solid gain. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 0.94, or 0.13% at 704.80 and is now down 7.9% for the year. Meanwhile, the Dow was up 1.10% Friday and is now off 15.9% for 2008; the S&P 500 was up 0.34% Friday and had slipped 17.3% so far this year.

The largest bank failure in history became official overnight as Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE:WM) was seized by regulators and sold for $1.9 billion to JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). JPM shares rallied nicely on the news, gaining some 10% on the day. Normally, one would expect the largest bank failure in history to dominate the news landscape, but WaMu’s failure wasn’t all that much of a surprise, and stock in the company was already trading well below $2 coming into the session.

As for Washington’s $700-billion-dollar bailout of Wall Street, the “Paulson Plan” ran into more resistance than expected, especially from the Republican party. Although uncertainty about the final plan kept investors on edge, there seems little doubt that something will still be worked out fairly quickly — probably over the weekend.

The story within stocks for much of the day centered on the tech arena, with tech stocks taking a beating until the final hour of the session. Even the late rally still found the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 slipping 0.92% for the day. Within the tech front, key stocks like Research in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq:RIMM) were taking a pounding; RIMM shares were off some 27% as the makers of the Blackberry warned that profits would miss the forecast. Also within techs, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) was off about 2.8%. There has been a hope building that passage of a financial rescue plan . . .

Transition Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:TTHI), Perfumania Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:PERF) and Valley Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:VYFC) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (Nasdaq:EXM), Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:NM), TBS International Ltd. (Nasdaq:TBSI), Orthofix International NV (Nasdaq:OFIX), Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:EGLE) and Tree.com Inc. (Nasdaq:TREE).

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

Tree.com Inc. (Nasdaq:TREE), Ricks Cabaret International Inc. (Nasdaq:RICK) and LNB Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:LNBB) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Brush Engineered Materials Inc. (Nasdaq:BW), Transition Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:TTHI), United Refining Energy Units (Nasdaq:URX.U), Miller Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:MLR), MDC Partners Inc. (Nasdaq:MDCA) and Johnson Outdoors Inc. (Nasdaq:JOUT).

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

Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (Nasdaq:MRX), Navios Maritime Partners LP (Nasdaq:NMM) and Transition Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:TTHI) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Orbotech Ltd. (Nasdaq:ORBK), Mortons Restaurant Group Inc. (Nasdaq:MRT), Capella Education Co. (Nasdaq:CPLA), Bank of Granite Corp. (Nasdaq:GRAN), Oneida Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:ONFC) and CNB Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CCNE).

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

PeopleSupport Inc (Nasdaq:PSPT), New Century Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:NCBC) and Tollgrade Communications Inc (Nasdaq:TLGD) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: US Airways Group Inc (Nasdaq:LCC), Medivation Inc (Nasdaq:MDVN), Astronics (Nasdaq:ATRO), Transition Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:TTHI), NewMarket Corp (Nasdaq:NEU) and Aixtron ADR (Nasdaq:AIXG).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

TomoTherapy Inc (Nasdaq:TOMO), Winn Dixie Stores Inc (Nasdaq:WINN) and eHealth Inc (Nasdaq:EHTH) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Transition Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:TTHI), Radiant Systems Inc (Nasdaq:RADS), Spartan Motors Inc (Nasdaq:SPAR), AuthenTec Inc (Nasdaq:AUTH), Entegris Inc (Nasdaq:ENTG) and EW Scripps Co (Nasdaq:SSP).

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

TomoTherapy Inc (Nasdaq:TOMO), Transition Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:TTHI) and Radiant Systems Inc (Nasdaq:RADS) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Winn Dixie Stores Inc (Nasdaq:WINN), Union Drilling Inc (Nasdaq:UDRL), National Interstate Corp (Nasdaq:NATL), Dynamic Materials Corp (Nasdaq:BOOM), eHealth Inc (Nasdaq:EHTH) and Wabash National Ord Shs (Nasdaq:WNC).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Bette Davis once said “old age is no place for sissies,” and to a degree, she was right. Old age not only brings wrinkles, but serious diseases such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Two drug companies that want to make the transition into your golden years a bit more tolerable are Transition Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:TTHI) and Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:SIRT).

Both companies have ample cash for funding further development efforts and have made noteworthy progress over the last year advancing lead compounds. While Transition and Sirtris are likely several years away from commercial sales, their drug candidates address huge, growing markets, estimated at hundreds of millions of patients worldwide, and have significant future revenue potential. 

Transition is developing novel drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease and Type 2 diabetes. Its lead compound, ELND005, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, works by breaking down neurotoxic fibrils in the brain and allowing certain peptides to clear the body before they can form plaque. Alzheimer’s disease is the fourth leading cause of death among U.S. adults and has no cure; it begins with memory loss and eventually progresses to overall loss of cognitive function. Most Alzheimer’s patients die within eight years of diagnosis. More than 30 million people worldwide currently suffer from the disease and their numbers are expected to increase dramatically as the number of seniors grows.

The company is partnering with Elan Corporation (NYSE:ELN) to develop and commercialize ELND005. Phase II clinical trials of the drug involving some 340 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease began last December and are expected to last approximately 18 months. To help fund the trials, Transition received milestone payments from Elan totaling $7.5 million last October and $5 million this January.

Transition is also developing TT-223 for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. TT-223 works by regenerating the body’s insulin-producing cells. Diabetes is the world’s fastest-growing disease; there are more than 200 million diabetics worldwide and it is estimated one in 10 patients will eventually die from complications of the disease. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% of all cases and usually develops in adulthood. Transition is partnering with Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) to develop and . . .

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

Futures are lower and investors are nervous following news that troubled investment bank Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) has been sold for just $2 per share. A year ago the New York-based company, which had been severely affected by the meltdown in the subprime mortgage sector, was worth over $170 per share.

There are fears of a domino affect that could spread the pain to other investment banks and financial institutions.

The U.S. Federal Reserve responded on Sunday by lowering its discount rate, the rate at which commercial banks borrow from the Fed, to 3.25% from 3.50%.

The Russell 2000 tumbled again Friday, capping an up-and-down week that ended only fractionally higher than where it began. On Friday, the index was down 16.81, or 2.47%, to 662.90. Look for support today just below the market at 660, while critical support remains along the 650 zone. On the upside, resistance is at 668, then a vacuum up to 678 and 684.

There could be some morning volatility into the opening. The 9:15 a.m. Industrial Production data could introduce some volatility into the mix.

Biopharmaceutical company Transition Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: TTHI) said it will license exclusive worldwide rights to pharmaceutical products juggernaut Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) to develop and commercialize Transition's gastrin based therapies. Shares climbed 14.3%, or $1.59, to $12.70 in pre-market trading.

For detailed price information and recent news stories about Transition Therapeutics, click TTHI. 

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) retreated today following news of a shaky start to the earnings season. The small-cap index let go 0.53 points, or 0.06%, to 845.19. The Dow dropped 85.84 points, or 0.61%, to 14,078.69.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 is up 7.3%, while the Dow has advanced 12.9%.

Small-cap futures were pointing up but the Russell 2000 fell along with the other major indices and spent the entire session in negative territory.

The bears first reacted to news that aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) missed Wall Street’s profit expectations. The New York-based company reported a net income of $0.63 per share, while analysts were forecasting $0.64 per share. That disappointed investors hoping for a strong start to the third-quarter earnings season.

Stocks went sliding and fell to their lowest levels in the early afternoon on news that workers at Chrysler LLC started walking out of select factories following a failure to reach a contract agreement with the United Auto Workers union. The newly private automaker wants to cut operating costs while the UAW is focusing on job security.