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Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Mobility Electronics’ (Nasdaq: MOBE) shares climbed in after-hours trading after the firm announced the appointments of a new CEO and chairman, and issued higher-than-expected first quarter financial results.

By 5:46 ET, Mobility’s stock had risen by $0.21, or 7.5%, to $3.00. Shares have traded between $2.58 (on Nov. 2) and $7.64 (on July 7) in the past year.

Mobility is a developer of universal power adapters for portable computers and mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and digital cameras.

The company announced today the appointment of Michael Heil to the positions of president, CEO and board director, effective June 11. Heil will replace Charles Mollo, who will retire from those positions, effective June 8.

Investors reacted swiftly and decisively late today to 21st Century Holding Co.’s (Nasdaq: TCHC) reporting a significantly lower first quarter earnings and lowering its guidance for 2007.

Shares plunged in after-hours trading -- by $8.69, or 43.5%, to $11.30 as of 6:17 pm ET. The stock has traded between $12.19 (on July 24) and $33.75 (on Oct. 26) in the past year.

Volume was heavy, with more than 340,000 shares changing hands, compared with an average three-month daily volume of 87,080 shares.

For the quarter ended March 31, the Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.-based insurance carrier posted net income of $842,805, or $0.11 per share, on revenue of $25.6 million, compared with net income of $6 million, or $0.88 per share, on revenue of $25.1 million in the year-ago period.

Avanex Corp.’s (Nasdaq: AVNX) stock rose by $0.04, or 2.4%, to $1.69 in heavy trading today despite the Fremont, Calif.-based fiber-optic networking company predicting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue below analysts’ estimates. For the quarter ended March 31, Avenex reported a non-GAAP net loss of $3 million, or $0.01 per share, on revenue of $55.1 million. Looking ahead, Avanex estimated that it would see revenue in the range of $47 million and $52 million in the fourth quarter. Six analysts had estimated a net loss of $0.01 on revenue of $56 million for the fiscal third quarter, and earnings per share of $0.00 on revenue of $56.3 million for the fiscal fourth quarter.

Shares of Jones Soda Co. (Nasdaq: JSDA) plunged by $3.40, or 13.8%, to $21.72 in after-hours trading after the company posted disappointing first-quarter earnings and revenue. For the three-months ended March 31, Jones Soda posted earnings of $58,312, or $0.00 per share, on revenue of $9.2 million, compared with $2,542, or $0.00 per share, on revenue of $8.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Five analysts polled by Thomson First Call had estimated earnings per share of $0.03 on revenue of $13.2 million. The Seattle-based beverage distributor said it spent a lot of money during the quarter on investments in its infrastructure, primarily sales personnel, and increased compliance costs to support its aggressive expansion plans and several new promotional programs.

New 52-week lows were established Thursday in the following exchange-traded issues with market capitalizations or values under $500 million:

New 52-week highs were established Thursday in the following exchange-traded issues with market capitalizations or values under $500 million:

The following were the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The Russell 2000 followed the Dow into positive territory as the major U.S. indices gained following news of a stronger-than-expected rise in labor productivity.  Among small caps, Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACLS) reported quarterly profit that fell short of expectations, while shares of PGT, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGTI) got a boost on news the company was profitable in the first quarter.

The Russell 2000 added 0.41 points, or 0.05 percent, to 828.87, its third consecutive day of gains.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in record territory for the third day on a row, adding 29.50 points, or 0.22 percent, to 13,241.38.

The Russell 2000 is holding on to its early gains in afternoon trading, as investors react to better-than-expected economic news.  Among specific small caps, Glu Mobile Inc. (Nasdaq: GLUU) reported earnings that outpaced expectations, while news of an increase in profit boosted shares of FortuNet, Inc. (Nasdaq: FNET).

At 2:20 p.m. ET the Russell 2000 added 0.90 points, or 0.11 percent, to 829.36.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 8.37 points, or 0.06 percent, to 13,220.25, on track for a third consecutive record close.

Shares of San Diego-based Artes Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARTE) are sagging after news the medical technology company reported a loss in the first quarter of 2007. 

The net loss for the period ended March 31 was $6.6 million, compared with a net loss of $8 million in the first three months of 2006.  Artes Medical went public in Dec. 2006.

Shares of La Jolla Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: LJPC) rose slightly this morning despite the San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company posting a wider first quarter net loss.

For the first quarter ended March 31, La Jolla reported a net loss of $11.9 million, or $0.36 per share, compared with a net loss of $10.9 million, or $0.33 per share for the 2006 first quarter. The firm has yet to record revenue.