Tag - Wres

The broad markets were all down today on the negative outlook from the World Bank. The Dow was down 2.35% to close at 8,339; the Nasdaq posted even bigger losses, down 3.35%, closing at 1,766; and the S&P 500 shaved 3.06% off from its open.

The Russell 2000, the widely followed index of the 2,000 largest small cap stocks, was down 3.68% to close at 494.

Fighting the overall downward trend and leading small-caps was Specialty Underwriters' Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq:SUAI) posting at 56% gain to close at $6.18 on news that it agreed to be purchased by Tower Group (Nasdaq:TWGP) at year end. Specialty Underwriters' offers commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States. Tower Group was down 4% to close at $23.04.

Other small-caps bucking the selling include Oncothyreon (Nasdaq:ONTY) up 33% on news of testing start for a late-stage study on the breast cancer treatment Stimuvax; MTR Gaming (Nasdaq:MNTG) up 21%; and Security National Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:SNFCA) up 20%.

Leading small-cap decliners today was LodgeNet Interactive (Nasdaq:LNET) posting a 22% loss for the day to close at $3.54. LodgeNet, a provider of Internet and advertising services, announced on Monday that it plans a profit offering of $50 million worth of convertible preferred shares. One half of the proceeds will be used to pay down the outstanding balance on its loan while the remainder will be used as general working capital.

Other small-cap decliners include Rex Energy (Nasdaq:REXX) down 19.5%; Warren Resources (Nasdaq:WRES) down 20%; and China Medical (Nasdaq:CMED) down 19%.

*****Oil is down again. The World Bank has lowered its growth projections for the global economy. In March, the World Bank was calling for a 1.7% contraction in global GDP. Now, it says the global economy will shrink by 2.7%. That's a pretty big revision.

The forecasts for China and India are about the only bright spots.

Traders are taking profits on oil stocks, which suggests they don't see a lot of upside for oil prices right now. Demand is still down, and we're not seeing a runaway economic recovery.

*****Here's your look ahead at the economic data for the week. Tomorrow, June 24, we get existing home sales.

We get new home sales on Wednesday as well as durable goods orders, oil inventories and the Fed will tell us that they aren't changing the overnight lending rate.

Durable goods orders will be a market mover. Last month, you'll recall, the number came in above expectations. Another strong reading would be great, but I have my doubts that it will happen. We should be expecting month to month swings in data like durable goods orders. It seems too early to establish a trend higher.

Thursday, we get initial jobless claims and the final First Quarter GDP number. The initial report is that the economy contracted at a 5.7% annualized rate. There may be an upward revision but I doubt that would be significant. Investors want to believe that the economy bottomed in the First Quarter, so this number gets a pass.

Finally on Friday, we get personal income and spending, the Michigan sentiment review.

*****Jason Cimpl, technical analyst at TradeMaster Daily Stock Alerts, gave us his weekly forecast for the major indices on Friday. If you missed it, here's the LINK. Jason's forecast was near perfect last week. We'll see how he does this week. 

*****We'll be discussing our bullish outlook for commodity stocks in next Wednesday's Video Conference. It's titled Inflation Busters: Discover the Stocks to Grow and Protect Your Wealth and will air on Wednesday, June 24 at 6 pm. It's free to attend, you can sign up HERE.

 

Small-cap stocks were holding ground into mid-session, buoyed by hope for a White House rescue for automakers and by a bounce in tech stocks, real estate investment trusts, homebuilders and gold stocks, which helped counter ongoing weakness in the financial arena. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Prologis (NYSE:PLD), Exelixis (Nasdaq:EXEL) and TechTeam Global (Nasdaq:TEAM).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Michigan sentiment survey came in better than expected at 59.1, above the forecast of 55.0.  
• Much of the investor focus today will be on trying to decipher just what the Senate’s rejection of the automaker bailout will mean to the market.  
• The Nasdaq traded in positive territory briefly about 30 min. after the open, and small caps jumped nearly 10 handles off the morning low.  
• Bernard Madoff, former Nasdaq chairman, was arrested and charged with running a fraudulent hedge fund that may have racked up $50B in losses.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Real estate investment trusts (REITS) were on a serious roll today, with small-capper Prologis jumping 26%, reversing a big slide from Thursday. See (NYSE:PLD).
• Bristol-Myers, biotech Exelixis team up on cancer; Exelixis stock is up 18.5%. See (Nasdaq:EXEL).  
• TechTeam Global up 16% on light volume. See (Nasdaq:TEAM). 
• The Andersons raised to "buy" from "hold" by BB&T; shares pop 15%. See (Nasdaq:ANDE).  


Small Cap Losers:

• Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. NV tumbled 17% and has now given back the recent advance tied to plans from President-elect Obama to initiate a massive infrastructure project.  
• DryShips cancels its acquisition of four Panamax drybulk carriers. Shares fall 15% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:DRYS).  
• Wunderlich Securities initiates coverage on Warren Resources with a "hold," shares dip 4%. See (Nasdaq:WRES).  
• Ciena down another 3.31% in pre-market after seeing a dramatic loss Thursday on a Q4 Loss. See (Nasdaq:CIEN). 

Small-cap stocks started out the day in dramatic fashion, with a jolting opening decline taking place on news that the Senate shot down a bill authorizing $14 billion in bridge loans for the beleaguered U.S. auto industry. However, the opening slide wasn’t as bad as it looked about an hour before the open, as it appears like the White House will try to come to the rescue of automakers. In fact, the Nasdaq actually traded in positive territory briefly about 30 minutes after the open, and small caps jumped nearly 10 handles off the morning low. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Macerich Co. (NYSE:MAC), Cache (Nasdaq:CACH) and VIVUS (Nasdaq:VVUS).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Michigan sentiment survey came in better than expected at 59.1, above the forecast of 55.0.  
• Much of the investor focus today will be on trying to decipher just what the Senate’s rejection of the automaker bailout will mean to the market.  
• The Nasdaq traded in positive territory briefly about 30 min. after the open, and small caps jumped nearly 10 handles off the morning low.  
• Bernard Madoff, former Nasdaq chairman, was arrested and charged with running a fraudulent hedge fund that may have racked up $50B in losses.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Macerich Co. is up 14% as the regional shopping center operator completed a $250 million refinancing deal. See (NYSE:MAC).  
• Cache opens 6% higher on light volume, and is hovering near a 52-week low of $1.41. The retailer's 52-week high is $14.86 See (Nasdaq:CACH).  
• VIVUS initiates Avanafil Phase 3 trials; shares climb over 4% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:VVUS).  
• Wacoal Holdings up 3% in pre-market after posting a dramatic loss on Thursday. See (Nasdaq:WACLY).  


Small Cap Losers:

• Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. NV tumbled 17% and has now given back the recent advance tied to plans from President-elect Obama to initiate a massive infrastructure project.  
• DryShips cancels its acquisition of four Panamax drybulk carriers. Shares fall 15% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:DRYS).  
• Wunderlich Securities initiates coverage on Warren Resources with a "hold," shares dip 4%. See (Nasdaq:WRES).  
• Ciena down another 3.31% in pre-market after seeing a dramatic loss Thursday on a Q4 Loss. See (Nasdaq:CIEN). 

Small-cap stocks vacillated back and forth in positive and negative territory into the midday time frame, with support from a pocket of upbeat earnings, an optimistic outlook from major PC-maker Hewlett-Packard and strong energy shares countering a soft tone in financials, tech stocks and ongoing concerns about the fragile global economy.  Today’s small-cap gainers are DHT Maritime Inc. (NYSE:DHT), Tetra Technologies Inc. (NYSE:TTI) and Zones, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZONS). 

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The slip back below 450 raised caution flags for the Russell going into the afternoon, especially with all these wild last hour moves we’ve been seeing in stocks lately.
•  JP Morgan: Commodity prices – especially agriculture products – should outperform energy and industrial raw material products in 2009.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was up more than 2% at mid-session.  
• Energy stocks were among the best performers so far today as crude oil prices reversed overnight losses.

Small Cap Gainers:

• DHT Maritime Inc., a tanker ship operator, jumped 17% after releasing earnings numbers today. See (NYSE:DHT).  
• Tetra Technologies Inc. jumped 15% as the oil and gas services company tries to mount a comeback after sinking to fresh lows last week. See (NYSE:TTI).  
• Reseller of IT products Zones, Inc. up 8.3% after announcing merger agreement with Zones Acquisition Corp. See (Nasdaq:ZONS).
• Two Warren Resources executives buy 65,000 shares late last week; shares are up over 7% today. See (Nasdaq:WRES).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Saks slides to loss in Q3 on weak margins, charges; shares dive 24%. See (NYSE:SKS).
• Las Vegas Sands Corp. slumped 16% as the embattled casino operator hovers near record lows even though auditors recently removed doubts about the firm maintaining as a “going concern.” See (NYSE:LVS).  
• Central Vermont Public Services Corp. is down 10% following news it would announce a public stock offering. See (NYSE:CV).  
• W.R. Grace & Co. continues to slide today, making a new 52-week low of $3.30 from a 52-week high of $30. Last week the company was considering a bankruptcy reorganization plan. See (NYSE:GRA).  

With oil prices hitting $107 per barrel on Monday and OPEC holding its production levels steady, commodities continue to be an intriguing play. One small-cap player positioned to benefit from the supply crunch that’s pushed prices upward is Warren Resources (Nasdaq: WRES).

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York with a market cap of $655 million, Warren operates as an independent energy company. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas reserves in the United States. Its primary exploration and development activities are focused in the Rocky Mountains and the Los Angeles Basin of California.

Warren is a leading developer of coalbed methane natural gas (CBM) in the Rocky Mountain region. Although the land is largely undeveloped, the company has two core areas that are believed to have significant CBM resources: Washakie Basin, in southwestern Wyoming, and the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming. The company owns natural gas and oil interests in Southern California that account for a significant portion of its revenue, along with ownership of natural gas and oil interests in Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota.
 
Its drilling, production and land operations are conducted through its wholly owned subsidiary, Warren E&P, which was founded as the Petroleum Development Corporation in 1973. Warren Resources completed its IPO in December of 2004 and has yet to look back. Despite a pullback in its share price last week, the company’s stock still trades nearly 15% above its year-earlier level.

For the fourth-quarter ended Dec. 31, Warren reported net income of $4 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, on $20.2 million in sales. These results came in short of analysts’ predictions, which were calling for net income of $0.09 per diluted share. However, total revenue was up 110% on a year-over-year basis.

Despite the earnings shortfall, one analyst is particularly impressed with the company’s operating efficiency. In an interview with SmallCapInvestor.com, Mark Lear, an analyst for Sidoti & Co., said Warren is “putting up peer-group leading production growth.”