Thursday's Small-Cap Winners & Losers

Small-cap stocks hesitantly set forth into positive territory in step with the broader market Thursday.

Shares of NextWave (WAVE Quote), a developer of mobile multimedia and wireless broadband products based in San Diego, Calif., swelled 28% to $6.08. The company announced its intention to sell its spectrum holdings in the U.S. The company, which has licenses and lease rights for a total of 4.7 billion MHz/pops of spectrum, has retained Deutsche Bank and UBS to explore a possible sale.

Meanwhile, King of Prussia, Pa.'s GSI Commerce (GSIC Quote) jumped 27% to $14.42. The provider of services for e-commerce, multichannel retailing and interactive marketing reported a first-quarter loss of $9.6 million, or 20 cents a share, vs. a loss of $2.3 million, or a nickel a share, a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for a 24-cent per-share loss.

Computer systems and software maker Mercury Computer Systems (MRCY Quote) saw shares climb 20% to $7.74. After Wednesday's market close, the Chelmsford, Mass., company announced third-quarter fiscal 2008 non-GAAP income of $951,000, or 4 cents a share, vs. a loss of $2.5 million, or 11 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts had forecast a loss of a penny a share.

Among the losers, Calumet Specialty Products Partners (CLMT Quote), an Indianapolis company that produces and sells specialty hydrocarbon products, saw shares drop 17% to $15.19. The company announced a cash distribution decrease to 45 cents for the quarter ended March 31 from a previous 63-cent distribution.

Also falling, Monarch Casino & Resort (MCRI Quote), which through its subsidiary Golden Road Motor Inn owns and operates a tropically themed casino in Reno, Nev., gave up 26% to $12.74. The company announced first-quarter income of $2.3 million, or 12 cents a share, vs. $5.5 million, or 28 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts were looking for EPS of 20 cents.