Tag - Unca

Liberty Media Corp. (Nasdaq:LCAPB), Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:EIHI) and First Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:FNLC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: STEC Inc. (Nasdaq:STEC), SmartHeat Inc. (Nasdaq:HEAT), Life Partners Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:LPHI), Conn's Inc. (Nasdaq:CONN), Quicksilver Gas Services LP (Nasdaq:KGS) and Unica Corp. (Nasdaq:UNCA).

Marketing management software company Unica Corp. (Nasdaq: UNCA), was downgraded to “market perform” by Wachovia today due to the belief that 2008 will be a challenging year and that recent accounting issues will likely weigh on the stock in the near-term.

Wachovia analyst Phillip Rueppel says he’s concerned about the exposure Unica has to the financial services segment, as that segment is its largest, and will cause 2008 to be a tough year for the company. Specifically, Rueppel says he believes lower-than-expected spending at the commercial and retail banking sector will pressure Unica’s growth prospects in 2008.

Additionally, the company stipulated that it under-provided state sales tax liabilities and may have not fully recorded related receivables, in each case primarily in prior years. Unica stated that it is currently assessing the liability in each state jurisdiction for current and prior years, and may be required to restate prior period results related to the state sales tax liability.

“The particular issue for Unica, around state tax, appears minor in our view, but any
lengthy period of time without up-to-date filings will cause investors to stay on the sidelines,” Rueppel wrote in a research note.

For fiscal year 2008, the small cap forecasts EPS in the range of $0.31 to $0.34 on revenues of between $121 million and $123 million. The consensus of seven analysts polled by Thomson Financial is for earnings of $0.41 per share on revenues of $120.95 million. Operating income is expected to be between $8 million to $9 million.

The company’s EPS and operating income projections clocked in lower than Rueppel expected and as a result, the analyst lowered his fiscal year EPS estimate to $0.31 from $0.40.

Despite the current adverse business cycle coupled with the accounting overhang, Rueppel says he believes that Unica is poised to address an underserved market, but is also developing and enhancing robust proprietary technology to expand its market opportunity.

The Russell 2000 fell hard following a dire warning from the financial sector and neutral inflation comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Chairman. The Russell 2000 violently snapped its five-day winning streak, losing 15.76 points, or 1.85%, to finish at 837.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 148.27 points, or 1.09%, to 13,501.70.

Stocks began the day on the wrong foot following news that Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) reported a decline in same store sales for the nine-week period ended July 7 and an announcement by home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) that earnings for the year will decline more than expected.

Later, rating agency Standard & Poor scored one for the bears when it announced that it may reduce the credit ratings of $12 billion of bonds backed by subprime mortgages. That could make things even worse for hedge funds and securities firms that had placed bets on subprime mortages, which are mortgages made to borrowers with poor or non-existent credit histories.

These are the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Physicians Formula Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: FACE) lowered its Q2 sales guidance to $21 million, from $22 million.

Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) reported a federal court ruled in its favor in a patent infringement case against Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY).

Medical technology company Kensey Nash Corp. (Nasdaq: KNSY) reported it’s ceasing embolic protection activities. The closing of the operations will cost the company $5.1 million, or $0.28 per share, which will be recorded in the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years.

The following are the most actively traded companies in Tuesday pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Wall Street rallied on news of an unexpected jump in U.S. manufacturing in June. The Russell 2000 added 11.36 points, or 1.36%, to finish at 845.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 126.81 points, or 0.95%, to 13,535.43.

Despite losing 1.46% during June, the Russell 2000 gained 4.42% during the first six months of 2007.

The third quarter of 2007 got off to a good start following news that manufacturing in the United States grew in June. The Institute for Supply Management’s index moved up to 56, the industry organization reported after the start of trading. That’s the fifth consecutive month of expansion and the highest level in more than one year.

Atlantic City, N.J.-based Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRMP) said negotiations with potential buyers have terminated with no acquirer in sight.

Marketing software maker Unica Corp. (Nasdaq: UNCA) dismissed its auditor Ernst and Young LLP and was subsequently downgraded to “sell” from “neutral” by Ferris Baker Watts. The Waltham, Mass.-based company provided no reason for dismissing its auditor.

These are the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Microsoft Corp.’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) willingness to pay a whopping 85% premium for Seattle-based aQuantive, the largest interactive marketing company, is indicative of the tectonic transformation in marketing services as they move online. The acquisition came in quick succession to similar deals by Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), which acquired advertising company DoubleClick for more than 20 times estimates revenues of $150 million, and WPP Group plc (Nasdaq: WPPGY), which bought online advertising company 24/7 Real Media Inc. (Nasdaq: TFSM) for $649 million, or $11.75 per share, a 30% premium over the average closing price for the prior two months. An earlier acquisition by AOL of German ad network AdTech AG, both prominent interactive marketing companies, went largely unnoticed. Investors will now be challenged to find online marketing stocks at reasonable valuations.

Growth in interactive marketing (a buzzword for marketing services companies that conduct marketing campaigns on the Internet) has been rapid in recent times.  According to Advertising Age, the growth of revenue in U.S. interactive agencies was a robust 23.1% in 2006; the leader aQuantive Inc. (Nasdaq: AQNT) grew 30%, while traditional agencies grew much slower at 4.2%.

Interactive ad and marketing companies fulfill the long-felt need in the profession for measurable performance from investments in marketing. The frustration with existing methods is widely described by the wry apothegm, “one-half of advertising money is wasted, and it is hard to tell which half.” The waste and uncertainty have grown as media consumers use devices like TiVO to bypass commercials altogether.