Thursday's Small-Cap Winners & Losers

Small-cap stocks locked in with the buoyant broad market Thursday, and a couple of tech stocks were leading the charge with positive earnings releases.

Avici Systems (AVCI), a networking-equipment maker based in North Billerica, Mass., leapt 40.7% to $11.85 after non-GAAP second-quarter earnings totaled $12.7 million, or 86 cents a share, on revenue of $29.6 million. Last year the firm earned just 62 cents a share; the analyst who follows the company had sought 21 cents a share on $15.8 million in sales, according to Thomson Financial.

Core-system-software company Phoenix Technologies (PTEC), of Milpitas, Calif., jumped 10.9% to $9.88 after narrowing its fiscal third-quarter loss by more than tenfold to 7 cents a share, year over year.

Meanwhile, Badger Meter (BMI) -- which makes flow-measurement and control technologies -- flattened second-quarter estimates. The Milwaukee firm earned $5.7 million from continuing operations, or 39 cents a share -- 11 cents more per share than what analysts had expected. Shares ratcheted up $4.83, or 15.5%, to $35.91, in support of the Russell 2000, which was 0.7% higher at 852.13.

Elsewhere, Ohio's Core Molding Technologies (CMT) said it had repurchased 3.6 million of its shares from major holder International Truck and Engine -- 35% of its total shares outstanding -- and EDO (EDO) received military orders for another 3,000 "CREW 2.1" vehicle-mounted electronic jammers that counter radio-controlled improvised explosive devices. The order, which constitutes an option exercise under a prior contract, is worth $210 million. The products will be delivered by August.