The Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index rose at midday Monday, with Robbins & Myers Inc. leading the way after the fluid processing products maker boosted its full-year guidance and reported a higher third-quarter profit.
The S&P 600 _ which tracks stocks with a market capitalization between $300 million and $2 billion _ added 1.63 points to 370.10.
Small-cap companies make up about 3 percent of the total U.S. securities market but are often cited as good investments because of their low valuations and potential to grow into big-cap stocks.
Robbins & Myers surged $7.92, or 19.3 percent, to $49 after touching an all-time high of $48.71 earlier in the session. On Monday, the company said its third-quarter profit doubled to $26.5 million and boosted its 2008 guidance above Wall Street estimates.
Shares of Fleetwood Enterprises jumped 45 cents, or 18.8 percent, to $2.85, recouping nearly all of its Friday losses, which came after the company posted a steep drop in fourth-quarter RV sales.
Staffing and outsourcing firm Gevity HR Inc. added 54 cents, or 10.6 percent, to $5.66.
Leading the declining stocks was Shuffle Master Inc., which plunged $1.47, or 12 percent, to $4.92. A Roth Capital Partners analyst cut his price target on the company, which sells and leases gaming equipment to casino operators, saying its latest public offering will be more dilutive than he originally expected.
Packaging product maker Chesapeake Corp. dropped 49 cents, or 17.6 percent, to $2.29 after the packaging company said it expected the completion of its new senior secured credit facility to be delayed. Shares hit an all-time low of $2.28 earlier in the session.
First Bancorp shares declined 95 cents, or 12.9 percent, to $6.49. Early Monday, a Kaufman analyst downgraded the Puerto Rico-based bank to "Hold" from "Buy."
Terms & Conditions
RSS Headlines
Fool UK