New York Stock Exchange Champs

Glamis Gold Ltd. (GLG)

Last Trade: 46.12

Change: Up 7.26 (18.68%)

Canada's Goldcorp Inc. said on Thursday it will acquire U.S.-based Glamis Gold Ltd. for about $8.6 billion in stock, a deal that will catapult it firmly into the ranks of senior gold producers.

The friendly deal has already angered one major Goldcorp shareholder and comes just months after Goldcorp closed its purchase of some Placer Dome assets from Barrick Gold Corp. and after Glamis wrapped up its takeover of Western Silver.

It also comes at a time when the price of gold is at multiyear highs and demand is strong, which has triggered the latest round of consolidation.

"Both companies had some maturing mine issues, thus the pipeline of inventory is very important," said John Ing, president of Maison Placements.

"Gold companies' problem is growth, and so far the growth is through acquisitions rather than through the drill bit."

Glamis shareholders will receive 1.69 Goldcorp shares for each Glamis share, representing a premium of 32.7 percent to Glamis's Wednesday closing price.

Shares of Glamis rose 18 percent to $46.12 on the New York Stock Exchange and to C$50.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Goldcorp stock dropped 9 percent to $27.66 in New York and C$30.55 in Toronto.

New York Stock Exchange Chumps

ADVO Inc. (AD)

Last Trade: 28.59

Change: Down 8.21 (22.31%)

Shares of Advo Inc., a direct-mail marketing company, fell as much as 40 percent after Valassis Communications Inc. asked a judge to rescind its $1.3 billion purchase of the company, citing breach of contract.

Advo shares lost $10.42, or 28 percent, to $26.38 at 9:23 a.m. in trading before U.S. markets opened, and earlier fell to $22.19. They had climbed 31 percent this year before today.

Valassis, the largest provider of newspaper inserts, said in a complaint filed late yesterday in Delaware Chancery Court that Advo misrepresented material facts about its financial health, Livonia, Michigan-based Valassis said in a PR Newswire statement. The complaint was filed under seal.

Nasdaq Chumps

Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc. (JOSB)

Last Trade: 24.24
Trade Time: 12:40PM ET

Change: Down 4.25 (14.92%)

Joseph a Bank Shares Fall on Aug. Sales

Joseph A Bank Clothiers Inc. shares slid 14 percent on Thursday, after the upscale men's clothing chain surprised Wall Street by reporting a substantial decline in August same-store sales.

The stock dropped $3.99, or 14 percent, to $24.50 on the Nasdaq, where it was the biggest percentage loser in morning trading.

The retailer reported sales in stores open at least a year fell 6.1 percent last month, missing Wall Street's expected 4 percent increase. The sales miss prompted brokerage Ryan Beck & Co. to cut its opinion on the stock to "Market Perform" from "Outperform."

"While we expect that there could be some upside to the second quarter, we are concerned with the disappointing August same-store sales and the difficult comparisons in the months ahead," analyst Margaret Whitfield wrote in a client note.

The brokerage also lowered its estimates for the third and fourth quarters and fiscal years 2006 and 2007. In addition, Whitfield cut her price target to $31 from $35.

The retailer's stock hit a 52-week low of $22.14 on June 20, and is down about 29 percent so far this year, adjusted for a stock split that occurred in February.

Nasdaq Champs

Joy Global Inc. (JOYG)

Last Trade: 40.88
Trade Time: 12:39PM ET

Change: Up 5.12 (14.29%)

Joy Global Shares Up Sharply on Earnings Surprise, Bullish Outlook

Shares of mining equipment maker Joy Global Inc. surged Thursday after the company reported earnings ahead of Wall Street estimates and issued a bullish revenue forecast for the next 12 months.

In recent trading, Joy Global jumped $5.74, or 16 percent, to $41.57 on nearly triple daily average volume.

Joy Global said third-quarter profit surged to $188.6 million, or $1.53 per share, including a reversal of tax allowances that added $111 million, or 90 cents per share, to the bottom line. Excluding items, profit totaled 63 cents per share, well above Wall Street's 58-cent consensus estimate.

"We see no peak in demand for our products and services and, with the exception of short-term softness in the U.S. coal markets, our customers' commodity markets continue to exhibit robust conditions," said John Hanson, Joy Global chairman, president and chief executive.

Baird analyst Robert McCarthy reiterated his "Outperform" rating for the stock, saying in a note to investors Thursday that "Joy sees undiminished strength of machinery demand in nearly all global (commodity) markets."

The company's "large relative exposure to global mining and its direct and rapidly growing participation in the modernization of the China coal mining industry" give it a "unique investment profile," said McCarthy.

Joy Global provided an outlook for the next 12 months -- which do not correspond to a fiscal reporting period -- for revenue growth of 16 percent to 29 percent, or sales ranging from $2.65 billion to $2.95 billion.

McCarthy said about 65 percent to 75 percent of the company's revenue is garnered from abroad.

Nasdaq Champs

Versant Corp. (VSNT)
Last Trade: 8.40
Change: Up 2.22 (35.92%)

Versant posts $1M profit in Q3


Versant Corp. reported income of $1 million in the third quarter on Tuesday, which it said was the highest income from operations since its 1996 IPO.

A year ago in the same quarter the company lost $14.4 million, driven by impairment charges of $12.9 million.

Revenue at Versant rose during the quarter, which ended July 31, to $3.8 million, up from revenue of $3.5 million a year ago in the same period.


Versant sells data management software.
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Micros Systems Inc. (MCRS)
Last Trade: 46.41
Change: Up 7.95 (20.67%)

Brean Murray upgraded MICROS Systems (MCRS) to strong buy, after the information systems supplier late Tuesday announced fourth quarter results.
Analyst Andrew Glukhov says the company delivered strong fourth quarter results, with revenue of $192 million, better than his $184 million estimate. Glukhov says solid revenue drove better-than-expected profitability.

Company management raised its fiscal year 2007 (ending Jun) revenue estimate to between $778 million and $781 million, while maintaining its 15% year over year growth target. Glukhov raises a $2.05 fiscal year 2007 earnings per share (EPS) estimate to $2.14, and sees $2.52 in fiscal year 2008. The analyst also ups a $48 stock price target to $51.

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Sigma Designs Inc. (SIGM)
Last Trade: 13.73
Change: Up 1.98 (16.85%)

Shares of Sigma Designs Inc. rose almost 17 percent on Wednesday, a day after the company said its second-quarter revenue more than doubled and forecast a 15 percent sequential rise in current-quarter revenue.

The maker of digital media processors for consumer appliances said the revenue growth reflects increased demand for its chipsets for Internet protocol TV set-top boxes.

Sigma Designs did not provide detailed results due to investigations into its stock-option practices.

The company said it expects another spurt in demand next year as several makers of Blu-ray players, that use its media processors, are gearing up for product launches.

In a conference call following the earnings release, the company said it expects about 15 percent sequential revenue growth for the third quarter and a double-digit sequential revenue growth for the fourth quarter.

Brokerage firm Roth Capital Partners raised its price target for Sigma Designs to $24 from $20. The brokerage said the shares were undervalued and reiterated its "buy" rating.

A.G. Edwards' Gary Mobley, in a research note, said Sigma Designs is well-positioned to address a few large market opportunities including Internet protocol television and High definition DVD. Mobley has a "hold" rating on the stock.

Sigma Designs said its second-quarter net revenue rose to $20.1 million from $8 million a year ago. Analysts on average expected $16.1 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Quinn Bolton of Needham & Co. said though the stock option investigation remains an overhang on the shares, he forecasts continued revenue growth and stronger incremental margins through year-end.

Bolton reiterated his "buy" rating on the stock and added that next-generation DVD standards have the potential to boost Sigma Designs' growth rates further in 2007.

Nasdaq Chumps

Nasdaq Chumps

VA Software Corp. (LNUX)
Last Trade: 3.78
Change: Down 0.75 (16.56%)

VA Software Swings to 4Q Profit but Sales Fall Below Street's View; Shares Dip 5 Percent


VA Software Corp., a software maker and operator of the Slashdot.org Web site for techies, said Tuesday it swung to a profit in its fiscal fourth-quarter, as online media sales helped pace broad-based revenue gains.

Sales growth, however, fell below Wall Street's expectations, sending the company's shares lower in aftermarket trading.

Quarterly net income totaled $696,000, or a penny per share, compared with a loss of $1 million, or 2 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Overall net revenue grew to $10.5 million from $7.8 million.

Wall Street had been looking for a penny per share in profit on higher sales of $10.7 million, according to an analyst poll by Thomson Financial.

During the quarter, VA Software said software revenue grew 22 percent to $2.7 million, online media revenue surged 78 percent to $4 million and e-commerce revenue gained 15 percent to $3.9 million.

For the full fiscal year, VA Software reported a profit of $11 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with a loss of $4.7 million, or 8 cents per share. Net revenue rose to $43.6 million from $30.6 million.

VA Software shares fell 23 percent, or 5.1 percent, to $4.30 in afterhours trading on the INET electronic exchange. They had closed earlier down a penny at $4.53 on the Nasdaq, where shares have traded between $1.28 and $6 over the past 52 weeks.

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Orthologic Corp. (OLGC)
Last Trade: 1.37
Change: Down 0.26 (15.95%)

OrthoLogic Corp. on Tuesday said it terminated the study of its synthetic peptide Chrysalin after it failed to meet primary efficacy endpoint in clinical trials.

Shares of the company fell almost 24 percent to $1.24 in after hours trade on Inet electronic exchange after closing at $1.63 on the Nasdaq.

The biotechnology company said the Phase 2b dose-ranging clinical trial was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the doses of Chrysalin on the rate of healing in adults with unstable and/or displaced wrist fractures.

Earlier, in mid March, a Phase 3 clinical trial involving treatment with 10ug of Chrysalin had failed to meet its primary goal of accelerating recovery.

The phase 2b trials included Chrysalin dosages of 1 ug, 3 ug, 10 ug, and 30 ug.

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Polydex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (POLXF)
Last Trade 7.70
Change: Down 0.85 (9.94%)


Travelzoo Inc. (TZOO)
Last Trade: 31.23
Change: Down 4.10 (11.60%)

ADC Telecommunications Inc. (ADCT)
Last Trade: 13.68
Change: Down 1.07 (7.25%)