Winners & Losers

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Small-Cap Winners & Losers: Georgia Gulf

Mike Taylor

Small-cap stocks joined the broader market in trading right along the baseline Wednesday, as earnings reports caused the biggest moves for individual names.

Among the losers, Atlanta-based Georgia Gulf GGC fell 25% to $4.46. For the first quarter, the maker of chlorovinyls and aromatic chemicals reported a widened loss of $69.5 million, or $2.02 a share, vs. $34.6 million, or $1.01 a share, a year ago. The loss includes a writedown of $26.1 million, or 58 cents a share, stemming from the shuttering of an Oklahoma City PVC resin plant. Analysts, who typically do not include one-off charges in their estimates, were expecting a loss of 38 cents a share, per Thomson Financial. Citigroup downgraded the stock to sell from hold.

Also falling, Kenneth Cole KCP, a New York purveyor of footwear and handbags, plummeted 17% to $15.20. The company reported first-quarter earnings of 4 cents a share on revenue of $122.5 million. The Street was looking for 3 cents a share. Kenneth Cole also guided for a loss between 11 cents and 13 cents a share for the second quarter, below the consensus estimate of an 8-cent per-share profit. CL King downgraded the stock to neutral from strong buy.

Meanwhile, OraSure Technologies OSUR, which makes oral fluid specimen collectors, saw shares sink to new lows Wednesday, recently tumbling 18% to $5.41. The company after Tuesday's market close said first-quarter profit increased 35% year over year to $2 million, or 4 cents a share. Analysts had predicted 3 cents a share, but OraSure also guided for a second-quarter loss between 6 cents and 7 cents a share. The Street expects a loss of a penny a share.

Also tradeing to new lows Wednesday was Greatbatch GB, which recently slipped 13% to $15.99. The Clarence, N.Y., company, which makes batteries for medical use, produced non-GAAP earnings of $3.6 million, or 16 cents a share, in the first quarter vs. $8.8 million, or 36 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts were looking for EPS of 26 cents.

On the winning side, Multi-Fineline Electronix MFLX added 17% to $21.85. The Anaheim, Calif., maker of flexible printed circuit boards announced fiscal second-quarter earnings of $10.4 million, or 41 cents a share, up from $3.1 million, or 12 cents a share, a year ago. The Street had forecast earnings of 27 cents a share.

LMI Aerospace LMIA shares soared 13% to $21.64. The St. Charles, Mo., provider of structural components for the aerospace and defense industry announced first-quarter income of $4.5 million, or 40 cents a share, vs. $2.2. million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts had predicted 34 cents a share.

Finally, electrical-equipment maker Powell Industries POWL, which is based in Houston, reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $6 million, or 53 cents a share, vs. $2.3 million, or 20 cents a share, in 2007. Wall Street had forecast EPS of 40 cents. Shares climbed 14% to $46.58.

More broadly, the Russell 2000 was off 0.6% to 725.11, and the S&P SmallCap 600 was off 0.4% at 382.72.