Tag - Vlcm

Exide Technologies (Nasdaq:XIDE), Cascade Corp. (Nasdaq:CAE) and First Community Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:FCBC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: LCA Vision Inc. (Nasdaq:LCAV), Union Drilling Inc. (Nasdaq:UDRL), Heritage Crystal Clean Inc. (Nasdaq:HCCI), Central Pacific Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CPF), Volcom Inc. (Nasdaq:VLCM) and Western Refining Inc. (Nasdaq:WNR).

DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ) and Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (Nasdaq:ENER) are among the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Manhattan Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq:GEOI), Volcom Inc. (Nasdaq:VLCM), SVB Financial Group (Nasdaq:SIVB), Copano Energy LLC (Nasdaq:CPNO) and DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY).

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (Nasdaq:PSUN), Perry Ellis International Inc. (Nasdaq:PERY) and First M&F Corp. (Nasdaq:FMFC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.           

Also included among the results: Marine Petroleum Trust (Nasdaq:MARPS), Noah Education Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:NED), Pyramid Oil Co. (Nasdaq:PDO), Temecula Valley Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:TMCV), Volcom Inc. (Nasdaq:VLCM) and Citizens & Northern Corp (Nasdaq:CZNC).           

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:   

Volcom Inc. (Nasdaq:VLCM) has sunk 15% today after reporting after Thursday’s close its second-quarter profits were down from a year ago. For the quarter ended June 30, Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Volcom’s net income was $4.8 million, or $0.20 per share, compared with $6.2 million, or $0.25 per share, for the same quarter a year ago. Revenues were $72.5 million, up from $47.7 million in the second quarter of 2007. Volcom is a men’s and women’s clothing retailer; the company said the market for such items had softened with the weaker economy.

In today’s trading, shares are at $18.58 at 11:01 a.m. ET, down $3.48 from Thursday’s close. Trading volume has soared to more than 1 million shares, more than double the average.

Gidgets and Moondoggies of the world unite: clothing company Volcom Inc. (Nasdaq:VLCM) rode into the active apparel market in the 90s and has been hanging ten ever since, with its stock price recently increasing by 26%.

The company’s line includes t-shirts, fleece, bottoms, tops, jackets, board shorts, denim, outerwear and footwear accessories, but it is more than just a run-of-the-mill clothing company.

Unlike most companies that come about from board rooms full of men in suits, Volcom was conceived by twenty-somethings Richard Woolcott and Tucker Hall on a snowboard trip the two took to Lake Tahoe in March of 1991. With $5,000 borrowed from Woolcott’s father, the two set out to create a clothing company based around their mutual love of three sports: surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding.

Their “youth against establishment” mantra translated to an initially anti-establishment business model. Volcom’s headquarters were first set up in Woolcott’s bedroom in Newport Beach, while sales were run out of Hall’s bedroom in Huntington Beach. Clothing revenues for the first year were $2,600.

Flash forward to 2008 and one can see the “gnarly” wave of growth the company has ridden. Over the years, the company has expanded from not only clothing, but sponsoring athletes, building skateparks, producing films and creating a Volcom record label.

And that paltry $2,600 in sales its very first year? Try $80.6 million today. For the quarter ended March 31, 2008, net income rose to $9.3 million, or $0.38 per share, from $5.5 million, or $0.22 per share in the prior-year quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected profits of $0.21 per share. Revenue rose 59% . . .

Small-cap stocks shot higher Thursday, lifted by a strong performance for the U.S. dollar, sinking energy prices and renewed enthusiasm for technology and retail shares. At the close, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rose 13.57, or 1.89%, to 729.75, the highest daily close since Feb. 3, the second-highest close since Jan. 3, and the fourth-highest close of the year.

The greenback climbed to the highest point against the euro since March 25, and was flirting with the highest daily close versus the yen since late February. A recovery in the dollar would suggest that the U.S. economy may have endured the worst of the slowdown, and would also increase purchasing power of foreign goods. There is also some thought that a resurgence in the dollar could trigger a massive unwinding of short dollar/long energy plays that could ignite a wave of buyers back into equities.

Clearly, the energy market was a source of enthusiasm for stock market bulls Thursday, as crude oil prices slumped to 112.55, down nearly 6% from the peak seen earlier this week as rising inventory and a strong dollar take a toll on crude values. Within the energy sector, investors were chilly to earnings from group leader Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XON), whose shares slipped about 3.4%.

Within broad market sectors, pretty much anything tied to energy or commodities was soft; with gas, oil and gold shares all down. Big losses were also seen in metals and mining stocks, which were off almost 5%. On the plus side, education services . . .

LHC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:LHCG), Volcom, Inc. (Nasdaq:VLCM) and PC Connection Inc. (Nasdaq:PCCC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Encore Capital Group (Nasdaq:ECPG), O2MICRO Intl Ltd. (Nasdaq:OIIM) and Comsys IT Partners (Nasdaq:CITP) are also among the top small-cap percentage gainers.

Here are Thursday's biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Small-cap shares pushed higher after a soft opening, lifted by a firm U.S. dollar and ideas that Wednesday afternoon’s dramatic downturn after the rate cut announcement may have been overdone. At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 2.82, or 0.39%, at 719.00.

The ISM Manufacturing Survey — released at 10:00 a.m. ET — came in at 48.6%, which was up just slightly from the forecast at 48.0% . The market was little changed immediately after the report. The Construction Spending report also came out in tandem with ISM, and was down 1.1%, which was below the forecast for a loss of 0.6%.

Weekly Claims data this morning came out before the opening, and showed a jump to 380,000, which was above the forecast. The rise in jobless claims keeps concern about the economy and the employment picture on the front burner ahead of Friday’s big monthly jobs report. Given relatively soft price action since FOMC, investors appear to be in the mood to either book profits on winning longs ahead of that jobs event risk, or else sit on the sidelines and wait for the number before diving back into the fray.

The dollar was on a charge this morning, jumping well over 100 bps, or nearly 0.9%, versus the euro to the highest point since late March. Crude oil was down . . .

Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $50 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• Volcom, Inc. (Nasdaq:VLCM), up 17% after the clothing retailer reported unexpectedly strong first-quarter results after Wednesday’s close that beat the consensus on Wall Street and raised its full year guidance.
• O2Micro International Ltd. (Nasdaq:OIIM), up 13% after the supplier of power management and security components posted first-quarter earnings after Wednesday’s close that beat the Street by 200%.
• Converted Organics Inc. (Nasdaq:COIN) up 10%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• PharmaNet Development Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDGI), down 30% after reporting ghastly first-quarter results and lowering its full year guidance. The firm swung to a net loss, while Wall Street was expecting a net profit of $0.30 per share.
• Shutterfly, Inc. (Nasdaq:SFLY), down 18%, after lowering second-quarter and full year guidance.
• ICT Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICTG), down 16%, after reporting a first-quarter net loss this morning that was a penny wider than analysts forecasted. The firm also issued second-quarter earnings guidance and full year guidance below the consensus on Wall Street. 

Shares of Volcom, Inc. (Nasdaq:VLCM) are vaulting higher in pre-market trading after the clothing retailer reported unexpectedly strong first-quarter results after Wednesday’s close that beat the consensus on Wall Street and raised its full year guidance. The company attributed the robust results in a weak retail environment to its “powerful brand” as well as capitalizing on opportunities domestically and abroad.

Shares leaped 17%, or $3.31, to $22.30 in pre-market trading. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Volcom, click VLCM.