Monday's Small-Cap Winners & Losers

Small-cap stocks were virtually synchronous with the worst-performing major index Monday -- the Nasdaq -- but acquisitions helped keep the sector mostly in positive territory.

Opsware (OPSW) catapulted 36.2% in furious trading after Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) agreed to buy it for $14.25 a share, or $1.6 billion, in an all-cash transaction that will likely complete before the end of H-P's fiscal fourth quarter. California-based Opsware, a data-center automation-software firm, closed up $3.72 to $14. H-P shares slipped 11 cents to $48.43.

Similarly, Atlanta's Cumulus Media (CMLS) soared more than 32% to $11.12 on word it agreed to be taken out by a group led by CEO Lew Dickey and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity for around $1.3 billion in cash. That pans out at $11.75 a share, or a 40.4% premium to Friday's close. The deal should close early next year.

Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) shares were also riding high after the Jackson, Miss., shell-eggs distributor swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $18.3 million, or 77 cents a share. Revenue jumped 31.3% to $169.9 million. Shares ended 12.3% higher at $22.68.

The Russell 2000, which counts among its components all of the above stocks (sans H-P), had a jumpy day in the green before finishing down 0.1% to 835.62. The S&P SmallCap 600 was virtually flat at 437.74.

Among individual names in the red, Nucryst Pharmaceuticals (NCST), of Wakefield, Mass., gave back some of Friday's astronomical gains after an analyst with SunTrust Robinson said the leap -- which was spurred by regulatory approval of its broad-spectrum antimicrobial-barrier topical cream -- was an overreaction. He lowered the stock's rating to neutral from buy. Shares plunged 29.8% to $4.10.

Finally, Thomas Group (TGIS) slid 18.3% after the Irving, Texas, management-services company reported it had earned just $1.9 million, or 17 cents a share, on shrinking revenue of $14 million. Last year it made 23 cents a share on sales of $15.6 million. Shares ended at $10.53.

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