Aug 27, 2010 10:04 AM PDT
The new Clearfield (CLFD) product deal with Arvig (ACS), the Littelfuse (LFUS) revised Q3 guidance by management and strong institutional support of EnteroMedics (ETRM) combined with gains in August industrial production to push the stocks higher this morning.
The Federal Reserve said today that U.S. factories manufactured more durable goods and discretionary items in August and that when counted with mine production and utilities output; production rose 0.8%. Even with the production of autos and auto parts taken out of the equation, manufacturing activity increased 0.4 percent last month. The Fed also noted that inflation remained in check in the early stages of a broad economic recovery.
With that news as an incentive, the bulls took over the broad markets in early trading.
Gaining 9.49% ($0.39), Clearfield Inc., (CLFD) http://www.clearfieldconnection.com/ announced a new sales deal with Arvig (ACS) late yesterday that brought in new investors encouraged by today's production news. CLFD is currently trading in the $4.50 range on the Nasdaq with a new market cap of $53 million. CLFD has a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 71,416 shares and topped 7 times that volume by mid-session.
CLFD and Arvig announced after yesterdays' market that Arvig, which services more than 40,000 telecomm access lines in northwestern Minnesota had chosen CLFD for cable fiber products to be used in Arvig's new deployment to 2,000 homes, businesses and cellular backhaul points. CLFD products will enhance hundreds of miles of fiber stretching throughout Arvig's territory of Perham, New York Mills, Osage, Osakis and White Earth, Minnesota.
CLFD's Clearview Cassette, with its modular construction for scalable capacity, is at the foundation of the deployment. CLFD will also provide its FieldSmart Fiber Distribution system for the central office, FieldSmart Fiber Scalability Center for the outside plant and FieldSmart Fiber Delivery Point for all 40,000 Arvig access lines in northwestern Minnesota.
CLFD makes and sells telecommunications equipment and products in the United States. Its products include fiber distribution systems, optical components, outside plant cabinets, and fiber and copper cable assemblies. CLFD serves communication service providers, including fiber-to-the-home, enterprise, and OEM manufacturers.
At $4.50, CLFD is pennies below its 52-week high of $4.55 set on 09-15-08 and is far above its 52-week low of $0.18 set on 11-25-08. At $4.50, CLFD is ahead of both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. CLFD has trailing twelve month revenues of $25 million and a trailing twelve month diluted EPS of $0.14. Its shares out versus float ratio is close enough to parity not to raise any red flags about stability.
Also gaining in today's rising market is EnteroMedics Inc., (ETRM) http://www.enteromedics.com/ which picked up 27.03% ($1.00) in early trading this morning. ETRM is currently trading in the $4.65 range with a new market cap of $139 million. ETRM has a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 99,915 shares and topped 742,135 shares traded (7 times+) by mid-session.
ETRM is widely held by insiders and institutions and I believe its gain today is a result of shareholders correcting its true valuation after its Q2 09 (ended June 30), net loss of $10.4 million, or $0.34 per share reported near the end of July. What better time to aggregate?
ETRM is a member of the Russell 3000 and 2000 indices. ETRM is a maker and seller of medical devices that neuroblocking technology to treat obesity and other gastrointestinal disorders.
At $4.65, ETRM is trading below its 52-week high of $5.38 set on 01-12-09 is far above its 52-week low of $0.83 set on 10-28-08. At $4.65, ETRM is ahead of both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The ETRM shares out versus float ratio, 30m/13m, is lopsided and I would like to see more shares in the public float for stability.
And gaining as much as 17.19% ($4.21) in mid-session trading today is Littelfuse Inc., (LFUS) http://www.littelfuse.com/ which is currently trading in the $28.55 range on the Nasdaq. The S&P SmallCap 600 company has a new market cap of $620 million. LFUS has a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 158,678 shares and easily surpassed that by mid-session.
LFUS management raised its Q3 earnings outlook this morning. LFUS CEO Gordon Hunter said in a statement that automotive incentive programs and low inventories at electronics distributors were helping Company performance.
LFUS now forecasts an adjusted profit of 27 cents to 32 cents per share for the quarter, up from a prior forecast of 14 cents to 21 cents per share. LFUS also forecasts quarterly sales of $113 million to jump to $116 million, which is an 11% to 14% increase from its second quarter's results. LFUS previously said it expected a 3% to 7% sales increase.
On August 12, LFUS announced it was rolling out its new line of POWR-GARD products that detect hazardous electrical conditions before any damage can occur.
LFUS makes and sells circuit protection devices for use in the automotive, electronic, and electrical markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. LFUS sells its electronic circuit protection products for use in wireless telephones, consumer electronics, computers, modems, telecommunications equipment, telephones, data transmission lines, and alarm systems. LFUS also provides automotive fuses that are used in automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road equipment.
At $28.55, LFUS is below is 52-week high of $36.50 set on 09-19-08 and is above its 52-week low of $8.82 set on 03-09-09. At $28.55, LFUS is ahead of both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. LFUS has trailing twelve month revenues of $433 million. LFUS is widely held by institutions. Its shares out versus float ratio is at parity. Very stable.
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