Russell 2000 edges up
Small-cap stocks are slightly higher after fluctuating during morning trading. At 11:37 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 5.1, or 0.72%, at 708.81, as the market trimmed away opening gains in choppy action.
A large percentage advance was registered early today in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SIRT), with the stock up a whopping 82% on heavy volume on news that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) would but the company for $720 million in cash. ANADIGICS Inc. (Nasdaq:ANAD) was up 24% following earnings results yesterday, and Silicon Graphics (Nasdaq:SGIC) was up about 23% after a heavy sell-off on Tuesday.
On the downside, Daktronics (Nasdaq:DAKT) was down 23% after sloppy earnings. Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) was down 22% after the maker of cellulose-based specialty products cut its third-quarter earnings forecast to below Wall Street expectations. Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG) was down 21% after releasing first quarter earnings. Wavecom (Nasdaq:WVCM) was down 18% early, also in the wake of earnings news below analysts’ expectations.
In midday trading, the gold and silver basic materials sector is leading the laggards while the computer storage sector is heading the gainers. Among gold and silver small caps, Apex Silver Mines Ltd. (AMEX:SIL) was down about 4% on no significant news from the Cayman Islands-based company. Among small-cap computer storage companies, hard disc drive maker Intevac, Inc. (Nasdaq:IVAC) was up about 1.5% despite no news and a downgrade from investment bank Needham & Co. on Monday.
