Thursday's Small-Cap Winners & Losers

Small-cap stocks were underperforming the major indices Thursday, and among the biggest losers was Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA).

Shares of the Maryland biopharma company slumped more than 25% after it proposed to sell $100 million worth of convertible senior bonds to institutional buyers. Initial purchasers will have an option for $25 million more in order to cover overallotments. Proceeds are planned for commercialization and R&D costs, among other things. Shares were off $3.85 to $11.15.

Biopure (BPUR), another health-care name, agreed to sell 16.85 million equity units for 85 cents apiece, with each to consist of one freshly minted share and a warrant to purchase another new share with a $1.06 exercise price. Underwriters have an overallotment option for roughly another 2.53 million units. Shares of the Cambridge, Mass., company slid 28% to 77 cents.

And China Precision Steel (CPSL) tumbled 24% to $6.45 after the Hong Kong-based steel manufacturer agreed to sell 7.1 million of its shares for $6.75 apiece to institutional investors.

Away from share and debt offerings, Flotek Industries (FTK) sank on disappointing third-quarter earnings. The Houston-based purveyor of oilfield services and equipment said its profit jumped 43.9% year over year to $5 million, or 26 cents a share, but that was still a nickel shy of analyst estimates from Thomson Financial. Shares were down $10.59, or 20.9%, to $40.21.