Tag - Upfc

Opening volume was higher in this morning's session with all the major indices, except the Dow, trading in the negative. As of press time at 10:40 A.M. Eastern the Dow is trading just positive at 8,768.67 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down 0.10% and 0.04%, respectively.

Leading small cap gainers today was Real Goods Solar (Nasdaq:RSOL) up 42% on news of a $30 million contract to install a solar power program for the Freemont Union School District in California. RSOL is a commercial solar energy integrator in the California and Colorado markets.

Other gainers in this morning's session include Cadiz (Nasdaq:CDZI) up 40%; American Woodmark (Nasdaq:AMWD) up 18.9% on posting a surprise Q4 profit; and Chinese solar firm Renesola (NYSE:SOL) up 16.9%.

Small cap decliners include United PanAm Financial (Nasdaq:UPFC) down $1.02 to $2.96 for a loss of 26.1% after a notice of delisting from the Nasdaq; Hawkins (Nasdaq:HWKN) down 14.1%; Exide Technologies (Nasdaq:XIDE) down 16.2%.

No sooner do I say that the news cycle is turning negative, we get some significant upgrades in the financial sector. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) got an "outperform" rating and rose 5.2%.

RBC Capital Markets called KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) a "top pick" and the shares ramped 20%. And Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq:FITB) rose 7% after it reported that it has filled the capital shortfall identified during the Treasury's "stress tests."

At least for a day, the financials re-took their leadership for the markets. Though it should be noted that the Financials ETF (AMEX:XLF) has not made a new high, and the financials are sharing the stage with energy stocks.

*****Money managers report that a lot of cash is sitting in the sidelines. Both individual and institutional investors have been slow to get back into the stock market.

Of course, that's exactly the scenario that can keep stocks moving higher. At least, so long as the economic data doesn't take a turn for the worse.

*****Citigroup reported in a research note that put options volume is picking up and so is the Volatility Index, the VIX. Investors buy put options to profit form downside moves for stock prices. Institutional investors protect gains in large portfolios with put options.

The VIX measures the cost of put options. When it rises, it means that investors see increasing risk in the stock market. Citigroup's chief technical analyst, Tom Fitzpatrick, believes the rise in the VIX is showing "strong warning signals" for the rally.

*****Bulls vs. Bears, fear vs. greed - that's what it always comes down to. Will the analysts who see better times ahead for the banks win out? Or will those who see "warning signs" be right? As always, we'll see…

*****The gains just keep coming for SmallCapInvestor PRO stocks. Since March, we've seen a 152% gain from our top oil stock, and we had Genco Shipping (NYSE:GNK) hit triple-digit territory before recent weakness took it below that threshold. 

Now, one of our top China stocks is knocking on the triple-digit door.  The obvious catalyst for this stock will is that it moves off the over-the-counter market and starts trading on the Nasdaq as soon as today. I expect the increased exposure to help drive the share prices higher. 

This stock blew through our conservative $8 price target. The new listing and rising prices for its product will have a positive influence on shares. Our target price is being raised to $14 per share. That's about 40% higher from current prices. 

I am very bullish on Chinese stocks. And SmallCapInvestor PRO now has 3 Chinese stocks in the portfolio. In fact, we just added one on Wednesday. I've put all three stocks in a brand new Special Report called "Going for Growth: 3 Top Chinese Stocks to Buy NOW." Find out how to get your copy HERE.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) led a mid-session rally that lifted stocks into positive territory, reversing a bearish morning. The small-cap index gained 11.29 points, or 1.41%, to 810.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 44.95 points, or 0.33%, to 13,566.97.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has increased 2.88%, while the Dow has added 8.76%.

Small-cap futures were pointing south and stocks opened in the red on news of an economic slowdown. The finance ministers and central bankers from the G7, the world’s top seven industrialized countries, said over the weekend that U.S. economic growth is in for a slowdown due to tighter credit, the housing slump and the high price of oil.

Just before 10 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had slipped below a level of 790, but then managed to tentatively approach the flat line before finally settling on an upward trajectory at around 12 p.m. ET. The Dow was more volatile and without a clear direction until just before the close.

Helping the bulls was the technology sector, as investors saw a buying opportunity on expectations of strong third-quarter earnings ahead of the release of Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) third-quarter numbers after the closing.

Small-cap software firm Synplicity Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNP) defied those projections, reporting a slight decline in its third-quarter profit.

Shares of United PanAm Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: UPFC) sunk to a new 52 week low earlier today after the specialty finance company, which provides non-prime automobile finance reported lackluster third-quarter earnings below the consensus on Wall Street.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Irvine, Calif.-based company reported income from continuing operations of $2.6 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, while five analysts polled by Thomson were on average expecting earnings of $0.25 per share. The current quarter earnings represent a decrease of 36% from income of $4.5 million, or $0.25 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2006.

The small cap attributed the earnings decline to increases in interest income and expense as well as an increase in its provision for loan losses.

Interest income increased 17.5% to $59.7 million for the quarter from $50.8 million for the same period last year. The increase was due to an increase in average loans of $147.5 million as a result of additional automobile contracts purchased in existing and new markets.

Interest expense increased 28.9% to $12.5 million from $9.7 million last year on account of growth in the company’s loan portfolio and higher market interest rates. The pay down of lower priced securitizations of prior years also contributed. As a result, the company said its net interest margin decreased to 79% from 81% in the second quarter of 2006.

Provision for loan losses increased during the quarter due to a larger loan portfolio and an increase in the annualized charge-off rate to 6.66% from 5.43% for the same period last year. United PanAm said the two major factors that continued to impact its charge-off rate were general economic conditions, most notably including increased gasoline prices and tightened employment. United PanAm also noted it slowed down originations and modified its underwriting criteria.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is rising despite investors’ fears of a U.S. economic slowdown.

At 10:30 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 1.17 points, or 0.15%, to 799.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was off 36.90 points, or 0.27%, to 13,485.12.

Small futures were down and stocks across the board fell this morning as investors reacted to concerns of a slowing United States economy.

News of an economic slowdown is a major cause of the generally bearish mood this morning, with finance ministers and central bankers from the G7, the world’s top seven industrialized countries, saying over the weekend that U.S. economic growth is in for a slowdown due to tighter credit, the housing slump and the high price of oil.

Small and big caps fell hard on Friday after corporate heavyweights missed earnings expectations, spreading fears about the negative effects of the meltdown in the subprime mortgage sector and the stagnation in the U.S housing sector.

Thus far this morning small caps are faring better than their bigger brothers, with the Russell 2000 index managing to rise above the flat line shortly after 10 a.m. ET.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 2.2%, while London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.5%.

Here are the current biggest percentage gainers and losers among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• Radiation Therapy Services Inc. (RTSX), up 43% on news it is being purchased by a private equity firm.
• RadiSys Corp. (RSYS), up 16% on news of an analyst upgrade.
• Cirrus Logic Inc. (CRUS), up 7%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Catalyst Semiconductor Inc. (CATS), down 14%. An analyst contacted for comment did not have an explanation for the stocks’ movement.
• Silicom Ltd. (SILC), down 16%.
• United PanAm Financial Corp. (UPFC), down 11% on news of a decline in third-quarter profit.

RAM Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq: RAMR), Moldflow Corp. (Nasdaq: MFLO) and Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE: SMP) are the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage losers: