Thursday's Small-Cap Winners & Losers

Updated from 2:34 p.m. EDT with new stock prices

As earnings season kicked into gear Thursday, small-cap stocks joined the broader market for a climb into positive territory. The Russell 2000 added 1.2% to 707.02, and the S&P SmallCap 600 gained 0.9% to 373.29.

Among the winners, Ikon Office Solutions (IKN Quote) jumped 26.5% to $9.92. The Malvern, Pa.-based provider of document management solutions raised guidance for the second quarter, forecasting earnings per share between 22 cents and 24 cents, up from a previous look of 16 cents to 19 cents. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for 18 cents. Cross Research upgraded the stock to buy from hold with a price target of $11.

Force Protection (FRPT Quote), a Ladson, S.C. maker of blast-protected vehicles, saw shares rise 31.6% to $3.33. The company notified Congress that it will sell 157 of its Cougar armoured vehicles to the U.K. military. The pending contract will be worth about $125 million if all options are exercised, Force Protection said.

Meanwhile, shares of Minneapolis' Apogee Enterprises (APOG Quote) tacked on 17.8% to $19.84. The designer and developer of glass products, services and systems posted fourth-quarter income of $14.4 million, or 50 cents a share, vs. $9.7 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. The Street was looking for EPS of 45 cents.

Women's apparel retailer Christopher & Banks (CBK Quote) shares surged 16.2% to $11.43. The Plymouth, Minn., company announced a fourth-quarter loss of $8.3 million, or 23 cents a share, vs. a profit of $1.9 million, or 5 cents a share, a year ago. The 23-cent per-share loss includes one-time charges totaling 16 cents. The Street, which typically excludes one-time items from its estimates, was looking for a loss of 8 cents a share. Christopher & Banks said it expects first-quarter EPS to be between 25 cents and 27 cents. Analysts are looking for earnings at the low end of that range.

On the losing side, Super Micro Computer (SMCI Quote) shares dropped 19.1% to $7.63. The provider of high-performance server solutions forecast third-quarter results for its fiscal 2008. Super Micro predicted revenue of $136.5 million to $137 million and EPS between 12 cents and 13 cents. Two analysts polled by Thomson are looking for EPS of 19 cents.

Also falling, Tween Brands (TWB Quote), a New Albany, Ohio vendor of outfits for tweens, cut its first-quarter outlook. Tween said it sees EPS between 12 cents and 17 cents, below the consensus estimate of 37 cents. Shares tumbled 22.4% to $17.98.

Finally, The Pantry (PTRY Quote) continued yesterday's decline on earnings, falling 29.9% to $11.35. Friedman Billings downgraded the Sanford, N.C.-based convenience store operator to market perform from outperform.