Thursday's Small-Cap Winners & Losers

Updated from 2:34 p.m. EDT

Magna Entertainment (MECA) said it plans to eliminate its net debt by Dec. 31, 2008, by generating roughly $600 million to $700 million from the sale of assets, entering into strategic transactions involving its racing, gaming and technology operations, a possible equity issuance and improved earnings.

The company, an operator of horse tracks and off-track betting facilities, also expects to arrange $100 million of funding to address its immediate liquidity concerns and provide sufficient time to implement the plan. Shares of Magna closed up 19.9% to $2.23.

SteelCloud (SCLD) rose following its latest quarterly results and word of a new contract. For the third quarter, revenue fell to roughly $4 million, a decrease of about 33.7% from a year ago, but SteelCloud's loss shrank to $675,012, or 5 cents a share, from last year's $6.5 million and 46 cents a share.

The developer of specialized servers and related appliances said separately that it received a two-year contract from an international networking software company valued at $3 million to $6 million. Shares gained 3.8% to $1.37.

Schawk (SGK), a provider of digital-imaging graphic services, has acquired Protopak Innovations, a package-prototyping company with approximately $6 million in annual revenue.

Shares of Schawk traded actively, closing flat at $22.50.

Evolution Petroleum (EPM) jumped after it said reserves surged by 270% during fiscal 2007 to 1.7 million barrels of oil equivalent. In addition, the present value, discounted at 10%, of future net revenue increased 314% during the fiscal year to $33.3 million.

The company acquires mature, onshore oil and gas resources and saw its shares rise 18.9% to close at $2.58.