Tag - Usap

American Axel Holdings (Nasdaq:AXL), Universal Stainless & Alloy (Nasdaq:USAP), Select Comfort Corp (Nasdaq:SCSS) and Rudolph Technologies (Nasdaq:RTEC) are among the biggest percentage Gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Seabridge Gold Inc (Nasdaq:SA), Medifast Inc (Nasdaq:MED), KongZhong Corp (Nasdaq:KONG), Sourcefire (Nasdaq:FIRE) and PetroQuest Energy Inc (Nasdaq:PQ).

Small-cap stocks were hovering near steady levels into midday trading, drafting off a surprising show of strength in the technology arena and another solid performance from energy and commodity stocks, which helped offset weakness in financial shares. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS), Excel Maritime (NYSE:EXM) and Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq:EGLE).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Poorest performers so far today: real estate investment trusts, air freight couriers, food retail firms and railroads.  
• Physical commodity markets turned up from a morning slide, bolstered by a pullback in the U.S. dollar.  
• Top performers so far today: aluminum, steel, coal, oil and gas drillers, semiconductors, life insurers and automotive retailers.  
• Small-cap stocks were hovering near steady levels into midday trading, drafting off a surprising show of strength in the technology arena. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Ocean shippers have been a recurring source of strength this week: Dryships is up 45%, Excel Maritime up 41%, Eagle Bulk up 40% and Genco up 27%. See (Nasdaq:DRYS), (NYSE:EXM), (Nasdaq:EGLE) and (NYSE:GNK).  
• Exco Resources Inc. jumped 40% as the oil and natural gas company announced results on the completion of a Louisiana well. See (NYSE:XCO).  
• International Assets reports Q4 results; shares pop 23%. See (Nasdaq:IAAC).
• KMG Chemicals up 22% after reporting Q1 results with 145% increase in revenues, reaffirming FY 2009 guidance. See (Nasdaq:KMGB).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Pep Boys falls 23% after company posts unexpected Q3 loss. See (NYSE:PBY).  
• Buckeye Technologies lowers guidance, cuts production in Florida. Shares tumble 22%. See (NYSE:BKI).  
• Universal Stainless & Alloy Products slumped 15% as some steel companies saw a correction off the big rally Monday. See (Nasdaq:USAP).
• Baird downgrades diversified industrial manufacturer Actuant Corp. to "neutral" from "outperform," halves its price target on the stock. Shares fall over 14%. See (NYSE:ATU).  

Taleo Corp. (Nasdaq:TLEO), ATA Inc. (Nasdaq:ATAI) and Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq:TKTM) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Intersections Inc. (Nasdaq:INTX), GeoResources Inc. (Nasdaq:GEOI), Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. (Nasdaq:USAP), James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC), Macquarie Infrastructure Co LLC (Nasdaq:MIC) and OM Group Inc. (Nasdaq:OMG).

Small-cap stocks slipped 1.89% late Friday, as a bleak report on the housing sector, options expiration volatility and ongoing worries about the economy offset a spate of positive earnings in the tech arena. Today’s small-cap gainers are CIT Group (NYSE:CIT), Universal Stainless & Alloy Products (Nasdaq:USAP) and Ambac Financial Group (NYSE:ABK). Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• BMO Capital's Andy Busch to SCI: "There is a serious need to educate the banking sector participants on the changes in the Treasury programs the Fed programs directed at easing the credit crunch." 
• Outside of the gold market, commodity stocks were doing well today, with coal, steel, gas utilities, oil exploration, gas storage and agriculture products all up. 
• On the downside, anything tied to housing was struggling, including home furnishing stocks and homebuilder shares. Bank stocks and financial shares were also lagging the general market. 
• The expiration of options on stocks today likely played a role in some of the market’s struggles as the directional bias into expiration is clearly toward lower prices. 
• Crude oil jumped some $4 a barrel today as the market anticipates . . .

Ambac Financial Group (Nasdaq:AKT), United Community Bancorp (Nasdaq:UCBA) and Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. (Nasdaq:USAP) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: GT Solar International Inc. (Nasdaq:SOLR), Gladstone Commerical REIT (Nasdaq:GOOD), Logility Inc. (Nasdaq:LGTY), ICU Medical Inc. (Nasdaq:ICUI), Rochester Medical Corp. (Nasdaq:ROCM) and Switch & Data Facilities Co Inc. (Nasdaq:SDXC).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

America’s “Rust Belt” doesn’t look quite so decrepit around the mills of Universal Stainless & Alloy (Nasdaq:USAP), a Pennsylvania steel company that has managed to retain its sheen despite the withering U.S. economy.

The specialty steelmaker found its niche making products such as landing gear components and airfoils for the aerospace industry, turbine blades for power generation systems, corrosion-resistant products for petrochemical plants,  and tool-and-die industry parts. More than half of Universal’s output is stainless, but its semi-finished and finished specialty products also include tool and alloyed steels.

Of the analysts following Universal Stainless & Alloy, Thomson Reuters found that two of four rate the stock at “hold,” with another calling it a “buy” and one placing it at “strong buy.”

Reflecting this split decision leaning to the positive side, shares of Universal Stainless are about where they started the year, having opened at $35.62 before sinking to a 52-week low of $23.14 on Jan. 23. Universal reached its 52-week high of $42.66 last July 16. At Thomson, the median price target is $41.

Universal traded at historical highs above $50 in early 2007, before helter-skelter nickel prices and the faltering economy sent shares lower. Most recently, Universal Stainless closed Wednesday at $34.50.  

In pursuing aerospace business, Universal Stainless does face some headwinds, such as aircraft orders being put off or delays in 787 Dreamliner development by Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA). While much of that next-generation plane is made of composite materials, it’ll need plenty of specialty metal parts. Universal President and CEO Dennis Oates said on an April 24 conference call with analysts that the impact from 787 delays . . .

Stocks managed to climb higher midday after seeing a sell off earlier in the session, as investors digested a slew of economic data and mixed earnings reports.

At 12:45 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) had gained 8.44, or 1.19%, at 716.55, while the Dow surged 135.07, or 1.06%, to 12,898.29.

At 10 a.m. ET, the Census Bureau reported new homes sales in March plummeted to an annual rate of 526,000, the lowest level in 16.5 years, sending stocks cascading lower this morning. Sales were below the 585,000 that economists were forecasting and represented a 36.6% plunge from the March 2007 level of 830,000, and a 8.5% slide below the revised February rate of 575,000.

In keeping with the downbeat economic news, durable goods orders for the month of March declined for the third consecutive month, decreasing $0.7 billion or 0.3% to $212.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau said this morning. This is the longest succession of decreases since the last recession in 2001.

In contrast, applications for unemployment benefits fell by 33,000 to 342,000 for the week ended April 19, the Census Bureau also reported this morning. It should be noted that the weekly claims figures are often volatile, and even though today’s headline number was better than the forecast, the claims numbers still point to extensive layoffs and a rise in the unemployment rate.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) has pared some of its earlier losses as investors take a second look at economic and financial data.

At 11:48 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 0.70 points, or 0.10%, to 687.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 21.90 points, or 0.18%, to 12,303.52.

Small-cap stocks began the session lower but have since been moving erratically, twice briefly venturing into the green, as investors try to make sense of mixed news.

The major bearish news came before the start of trading when Wachovia Corp. (NYSE:WB), the fourth-largest U.S. bank, reported that it swung to a first-quarter loss. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company also cut its dividend and said that it will sell common and preferred stock to raise capital.

The announcement led to declines in the financial services sector. Among those whose stock price is sagging is small-cap multi-bank holding company . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is posting solid gains despite mounting fears of a recession. At 2:01 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 4.86 points, or 0.68%, to 718.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 44.61 points, or 0.35%, to 12,670.64.

Investors are in a bullish mood and the major U.S. indices have shaken their early losses and moved into the green despite news of a weak government jobs report.

The U.S. Labor Department reported before the opening that payrolls fell by 80,000 in March, the third consecutive month of declines. Economists were expecting to see a decline of 63,000.

Small-cap stocks stumbled out of the gate but surprisingly rose into positive territory shortly after 11 a.m. ET.

“Today started as if there wouldn’t be much reaction in the market place,” said Cem Hocaoglu, head of Quantitative Derivative Strategy at financial services firm Susquehanna Financial, in a phone interview. “It’s just . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) has added to its earlier losses after news of a rise in U.S. wholesale inventories in January.

At 12:06 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 9.09 points, or 1.38%, to 651.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was missing 97.12 points, or 0.82%, to 11,796.57.

The stock of unsold goods held by wholesalers increased 0.8% in January, the U.S. Census Bureau reported after the start of trading. Economists were expecting wholesale inventories to rise 0.4% following a 1.1% jump in December.

However, wholesale sales increased 2.7%, the largest rise since March 2003. Sales fell 0.5% in December.

Wholesalers act as intermediaries between manufacturers or importers, and retailers, and a rise in inventories indicates that unsold goods are piling up.

Shares of steel companies are leading the list of sector losers. Among the decliners is small-cap steel maker Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAP). Also trading in the red is China Precision Steel, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPSL).

Shares of Somanetics Corp. (Nasdaq: SMTS) are also in bearish territory on news before the opening that the Troy, Mich.-based maker of a noninvasive patient monitoring system was downgraded by an analyst.

Bucking the trend is Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Co. (NYSE: TCM). The China-based specialty pharmaceutical company has received a buyout offer from its chairman.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are higher following news of stronger-than-expected September retail sales.

At 10:16 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 5.15 points, or 0.62%, to 840.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had advanced 47.64 points, or 0.34%, to 14,062.72.

Retail sales for September increased 0.6% to $380.2 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau before the opening. That’s more than the projected 0.2% and a sign that the American consumer is alive and well despite the ongoing slump in the housing sector.

The gains were led by sales of autos, electronics and groceries.

On a year-over-year basis, retail sales have increased 5%.

Retail sales excluding motor vehicles and parts added 0.4% to $301.6 billion, outpacing analysts’ forecasts of a rise of 0.3%.

In other economic news, the U.S. Labor Department reported that producer prices for September increased 1.1%, the largest gain since February. That’s above the projected rise of 0.5%. The producer price index declined 1.4% in August.

Shares of medication control and patient safety provider Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMCL) were lower after this morning’s report of a decline in net income.  First quarter 2007 net income totaled $4.0 million, or $0.13 per share, compared with $4.1 million, or $0.14 per share in the fourth quarter of 2006.  Shares are down $0.31, or 1.41%, to $21.73.