Russell 2000 stays flat
April 23 (SmallCapInvestor.com) – The Dow and the Russell 2000 are moving sideways this morning as investors consolidate their gains after Friday’s rally. Among small caps, Gentex Corporation (Nasdaq: GNTX) beat analysts’ earnings estimates, while shares of Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (Nasdaq: AMCC) fell on news of lower quarterly revenue.
At 11:41 AM the Russell 2000 was down 0.44 points, or 0.05 percent, to 828.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 1.62 points, or 0.01 percent, to 12,960.36.
Shares of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based information technology solutions Alanco Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALAN) are up $0.96, or 37.25%, to $3.53 on news quarterly revenues will triple. Revenue for quarter ended March 31, 2007, will exceed $4.4 million, an increase of over 300% compared with $988,000 in the same quarter a year earlier, according to preliminary figures the company released before the opening bell. Alanco Technologies attributed the stellar performance to its new Wireless Asset Management business segment.
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation is among the morning’s losers after its fourth-quarter revenue forecast missed analysts’ expectations. Revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, will be about $70 million, a decline of 8.5% compared with revenue of $76.5 million a year earlier, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said before the opening bell. Wall Street was looking for $73.9 in revenue. Shares are down $0.78, or 22.10%, to $2.75.
Shares of Zeeland, Minn.-based rearview mirrors and commercial fire protection products Gentex Corporation gained ground on news of strong first-quarter financial results. Net sales for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, were $157.2 million, up 13% from $139.0 million a year earlier. Earnings were $0.21 per share, compared with $0.17 per share in the first quarter of 2006. That’s above analysts’ expected earnings of $0.19 per share. The stock is up $2.26, or 13.71%, to $18.74.
In financial news, The Netherlands’ ABN Amro Holding and England’s Barclays announced a definitive merger agreement worth $91 billion. The new institution will be among the top five banks in the world. ABN Amro will sell its Chicago-based bank LaSalle to Bank of America as part of the deal.
