Tag - Vscn

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices raced ahead today on news of solid earnings from big players. The small-cap index added 15.28 points, or 1.90%, to 821.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) gained 134.78 points, or 0.99%, to 13,806.70.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has increased 4.31%, while the Dow has added 10.68% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.38%.

Futures were pointing up and trading began in the green following news that Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) increased its first-quarter net income 23% to $4.29 billion, or $0.45 per share, above the $0.39 per share projected by analysts. The rise was due to a whooping 87% growth in the company’s entertainment and devices segment, primarily due to strong sales of its video game “Halo.”
 
Adding to the upbeat pre-market sentiment was Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC), the largest mortgage lender in the United States, which said that it will return to profitability in the fourth quarter after losing money in the third quarter due to the meltdown in the subprime mortgage sector.

The bulls took control of trading out of the gate and kept their feet to the pedal throughout the session. With positive earnings news grabbing the headlines, the bears decided to sleep.

But there was some negative news, coming in the form of a larger-than-expected drop in October consumer confidence. The Reuters/University of Michigan final sentiment index fell to a reading of 80.9, the lowest level in more than a year. Economists were expecting to see a decline to a level of 82 from 83.4 in September.

Triad Guaranty Inc. (Nasdaq: TGIC), Graham Corp. (AMEX: GHM) and US BioEnergy Corp. (Nasdaq: USBE) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers:

CollaGenex Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Nasdaq: CGPI), Zareba Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: ZRBA) and Voxware, Inc. (Nasdaq: VOXW) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage losers:

Shares of Visual Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSCN) are edging higher today after Avondale Partners upgraded the provider of web analytics to a “market outperform” rating from “market perform.” The action was based on the company’s announcement Monday that it settled a lawsuit surrounding patent infringements with NetRatings.

Under the terms of the settlement, Visual Sciences said it agreed to pay NetRatings $9.0 million, of which $2.0 million is due upon execution of the settlement and patent license agreement. The company said the remaining $7.0 million will be paid in quarterly installments of $0.5 million beginning March 31, 2008.

“[The settlement] eliminates an overhang with the stock and will mean less expense going forward,” wrote Avondale Partners analyst Sean Jackson in a research note.

According to Jackson, the litigation has cost Visual Sciences up to $1 million per quarter since it began in February of last year. The analyst said he expects the lawsuit settlement will be accounted for as a net decrease in expenses going forward (even on a GAAP basis).

On account of reduced expenses associated with the lawsuit settlement, Jackson is raising his estimates for fiscal year 2007 and 2008. For the current year, Jackson is raising his earnings estimate to $0.62 from $0.58, while he is raising his earnings estimate for 2008 to $0.84 from $0.71. Fourteen analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were on average expecting earnings of $0.57 and $0.76 for 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Provider of real-time analytics applications Visual Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSCN) reported this morning that it has settled its patent litigation with
provider of Internet audience measurement and analysis NetRatings, Inc.

Visual Sciences and NetRatings, which first filed lawsuits against each other in February 2006, said they have exchanged non-exclusive worldwide licenses to certain patent and patent applications owned by each other.

Under the terms of the settlement, Visual Sciences said it has agreed to pay NetRatings $9.0 million, of which $2.0 million is due upon execution of the settlement and patent license agreement. The company said the remaining $7.0 million will be paid in quarterly installments of $0.5 million beginning March 31, 2008.

In addition, in connection with a change in control of Visual Sciences, an additional payment of $2.25 million would be payable to NetRatings and $2.0 million of the $7.0 million in ongoing payments would be accelerated.

Shares of Visual Sciences were halted in pre-market trading.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is down but the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up as stocks are mixed on news of a decline in June retail sales and conflicting economic data.

At 10:25 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had lost 3.68 points, or 0.43 percent, to 851.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 10.81 points, or 0.08 percent, to 13,872.54.

June retail sales fell 0.9%, the most in almost two years, the U.S. Commerce Department reported before the opening bell. Economists were forecasting a drop of 0.1%. On Thursday, retailers surprised many by announcing generally positive same-store sales in June, leading to a rally.

Elsewhere, the higher price of oil contributed to a 1% rise in June import prices, according to the Labor Department before the start of trading. Wall Street was calling for a rise of 0.6%.

The news this morning was not all bad. The monthly University of Michigan said that its consumer sentiment index rose to 92.4 in July, exceeding the projected rise to 86. The index was at 85.3 in June.

The following were the most actively traded companies in Friday’s trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDIX) said the FDA has essentially rejected its hepatitis C drug. Idenix is “not optimistic” about the drug’s future prospects, CEO Jean-Pierre Sommadossi said.

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

What’s in a name? For web analytics company Visual Sciences Inc., it seems to count for a lot.

For the last year, the company known as WebSideStory, trading under the symbol WSSI, has been bouncing between $11 and $14 a share. In recent months, it’s been largely at the low side of the bounce, in part because earnings have been depressed by the cost of assimilating Visual Sciences LLC., a competitor it acquired in February 2006.

Then on May 10, WebSideStory disappeared. Along with its first-quarter earnings report, the company announced that the acquirer was taking on the name of the acquired. Now called Visual Sciences Inc. and trading under the symbol VSCN, it slightly beat analyst forecasts and announced upgrades of its two main products.

Investors embraced the changes—including the shift its new name implies—by bidding the stock back from $11 to just over $14 per share on unusually high volume in one day. Its market cap is about $290 million.