Among the biggest losers in Tuesday’s early trading are Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE), Arkansas Best (Nasdaq: ABFS) and Sealy (NYSE: ZZ). Top Percentage Losers — Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Arkansas Best (Nasdaq: ABFS) $21.35 -17.9% $34.56 $21.39 Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) $4.61 -9.1% $20.18 $4.33 Sealy (NYSE: ZZ) $3.02 -5.0% $4.24 $1.51 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Tuesday’s early trading are Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE), Arkansas Best (Nasdaq: ABFS) and Sealy (NYSE: ZZ). Top Percentage Losers — Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Arkansas Best (Nasdaq: ABFS) $21.35 -17.9% $34.56 $21.39 Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) $4.61 -9.1% $20.18 $4.33 Sealy (NYSE: ZZ) $3.02 -5.0% $4.24 $1.51 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:00AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. European Bank Stocks Portend Darker Clouds Tuesday’s -19% drop in shares of Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) are a fairly big deal – for American investors. The sharp decline highlights the increasing likelihood that some sort of major intervention – on behalf of the bank or the entire Irish economy – will be necessary. Similar weak action in Spanish banks such as Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) implies similar distress on… Read More

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been called one of the worst-ever environmental disasters — and may prove to be perhaps even bigger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez catastrophe. For more than a month, crews off the Louisiana shore have tried to… Read More

No bride or groom likes to be left at the altar. The same thing applies to investors in companies about to be acquired. One moment, it may look like shareholders will get a hefty premium, and the next, the bottom falls out of the deal and the… Read More

Many publicly-traded firms are in a steady state of flux, acquiring rivals and jettisoning businesses no longer deemed core to the parent company‘s mission. Both situations can be lucrative for astute investors — buyouts can deliver big premiums over current market values, and… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Monday’s early trading are Gentiva Health (Nasdaq: GTIV), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), and Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM). Top Percentage Gainers — Monday, May 24, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Gentiva Health (Nasdaq: GTIV) $28.95 +12.2% $30.88 $14.50 Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) $4.80 +8.8% $5.78 $2.78 SilverCorp Metals (NYSE: SVM) $7.21 +8.3% $9.05 $7.24 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Monday’s early trading are Gentiva Health (Nasdaq: GTIV), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), and Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM). Top Percentage Gainers — Monday, May 24, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Gentiva Health (Nasdaq: GTIV) $28.95 +12.2% $30.88 $14.50 Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) $4.80 +8.8% $5.78 $2.78 SilverCorp Metals (NYSE: SVM) $7.21 +8.3% $9.05 $7.24 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 12:00PM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. A Win-Win M&A Deal for Gentiva It’s an unwritten rule on Wall Street that a company’s stock will lose roughly the same value as its buyout target gains when a buyout deal is announced. Yet shares of Gentiva Health (Nasdaq: GTIV) are up more than +12% after the home health services company agreed to acquire Odyssey Health (Nasdaq: ODSY), which provides hospice care. The deal… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Monday’s early trading are Dreamworks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA), Popular (Nasdaq: BPOP) and New York & Co. (NYSE: NWY). Top Percentage Losers — Monday, May 24, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Dreamworks (NYSE: DWA) $30.81 -11.6% $44.77 $25.70 Popular (Nasdaq: BPOP) $2.94 -4.0% $4.23 $1.00 New York & Co. (NYSE: NWY) $3.75 -2.6% $6.53 $2.72 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Monday’s early trading are Dreamworks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA), Popular (Nasdaq: BPOP) and New York & Co. (NYSE: NWY). Top Percentage Losers — Monday, May 24, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Dreamworks (NYSE: DWA) $30.81 -11.6% $44.77 $25.70 Popular (Nasdaq: BPOP) $2.94 -4.0% $4.23 $1.00 New York & Co. (NYSE: NWY) $3.75 -2.6% $6.53 $2.72 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:00AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Disappointing Shrek Opening weighs on Dreamworks Shares of Dreamworks Animation (NYSE: DWA) are off by more than -11% after Shrek Forever After generated $71 million at the box office this weekend – below industry forecasts of $85 million, and a weaker opening than the prior two films in the franchise. Accounting for higher ticket prices in place compared with the last version of the Shrek franchise, actual attendance is more than 50% below the… Read More

Spurred by the Obama administration and public pressure around the world, this industry will have to change — and fast. New environmental regulations are emerging from Washington and Europe that are compelling the industry to change its ways and play a bigger role in the fight against global warming. Read More

Among the biggest winners in Thursday’s early trading are Marvell Semiconductors (Nasdaq: MRVL), Carmike Cinemas (Nasdaq: CKEC) and Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, May 21, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Carmike Cinemas (Nasdaq: CKEC) $12.40 +12.3% $19.00 $5.55 Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF) $6.70 +11.7% $10.78 $4.48 Marvell Semiconductors (Nasdaq: MRVL) $19.53 +9.4% $22.87 $10.62 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Thursday’s early trading are Marvell Semiconductors (Nasdaq: MRVL), Carmike Cinemas (Nasdaq: CKEC) and Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, May 21, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Carmike Cinemas (Nasdaq: CKEC) $12.40 +12.3% $19.00 $5.55 Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF) $6.70 +11.7% $10.78 $4.48 Marvell Semiconductors (Nasdaq: MRVL) $19.53 +9.4% $22.87 $10.62 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 12:22PM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. This Diversified Chip Player Looks Like a Smart Play Part of the challenge of investing in semiconductor stocks is identifying which areas will see strength and which will see weakness. At certain times, memory-related chips can see hot demand, while communications or networking chips can be out of favor. Or vice-versa. Maybe a better bet is to find stocks that have exposure to all the groups. #-ad_banner-#One can see the benefits of such an approach by looking… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD), Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (Nasdaq: RRGB). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, May 21, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Red Robin (Nasdaq: RRGB) $19.81 -15.9% $29.10 $14.39 Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD) $5.09 -13.4% $9.84 $4.99 Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) $13.50 -5.8% $17.52 $10.99 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD), Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (Nasdaq: RRGB). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, May 21, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Red Robin (Nasdaq: RRGB) $19.81 -15.9% $29.10 $14.39 Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD) $5.09 -13.4% $9.84 $4.99 Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) $13.50 -5.8% $17.52 $10.99 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:15AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Dell Slowly Improves In early March, shares of Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) started to stage an impressive rally as investors grew to expect a healthy upturn in demand for tech equipment. But in recent weeks, the optimism evaporated on concerns that price pressures would limit profit growth. Dell confirmed that thesis Thursday evening, as profit margins lagged forecasts, pushing shares down nearly -6% in Friday trading. Shares have now come all… Read More

If there’s one thing investors should always keep in mind, it’s this: there is a potential investment idea in everything. Even in this market. For example, every item you find in your supermarket, even the supermarket itself, is a potential investment idea. There may also even be… Read More