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For the fourth straight day, the Energy Sector has posted gains as oil has crept up to $72 on a weak dollar and oil producer Toreador Resources (TRGL), which has ridden the sector coat-tails, posted strong gains today in an otherwise 'flat' market that only witnessed a few companies with positive Q3 news, like Xyratex (XRTX) and Shuffle Master (SHFL), posting significant gains as the session trudged along.
The Labor Department said today that first-time claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, the Federal Reserve said yesterday that 11 of its 12 regional banks reported the economy is stabilizing and a private sector report today said foreclosures held steady month-over-month from July to August, but the markets hardly reacted and remained 'flat' in early trading; even the Healthcare Sector hardly responded to the President's speech last night.
So onto some movers and shakers...
Gaining 23.41% ($1.55) this morning is Toreador Resources Corp., (TRGL) http://www.toreador.net/ which is currently trading in the $8.19 range on the Nasdaq. TRGL has a new market cap of $170 million. TRGL has a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 87,733 shares and easily tripled that volume by 11 a.m. EST surpassing 437,007 shares traded this morning.
On August 28, TRGL issued an update to its endeavors and that, coupled with the Energy Sector's daily rise since Friday, has kept Euro oil producer TRGL buyers enthused. In the report, TRGL management noted it continues to develop growth opportunities in France.
A rig contract has been signed to drill the La Garenne well on the 100% owned Rigny le Ferron permit and is scheduled to spud late November pending regulatory approvals. The well has the potential of proving between 6-30 mmbo of oil in place.
The TRGL exploitation of the Paris Basin Oil Shale continues to be the Company's primary focus for transformational growth, with current activities focused on strategic partnering to launch a phased approach in the first half of 2010.
TRGL management also noted the Company is in advanced discussions to monetize its businesses in Turkey and Hungary while the exploration well located in the western Black Sea was declared a dry hole and is being plugged and abandoned. The TRGL management knows when to get out and begin looking elsewhere.
The TRGL August 6 Q2 09 numbers for the three months ended June 30, 2009, were also indicative of flexible growth with TRGL reporting income available to common shares of $2.9 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to a loss available to common shares of $65.8 million in Q2 08, or $3.33 per diluted share. Nice turnaround.
TRGL, together with its subsidiaries, engages in oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, leasing, and acquisition activities. TRGL holds the rights to explore and develop oil and natural gas properties in offshore and onshore Turkey, Hungary, Romania, and France. As of December 31, 2008, TRGL held interests in approximately 5.9 million gross acres and approximately 4.2 million net acres; and had estimated net proved reserves of 7.6 million barrels of oil equivalent.
At $8.19, TRGL is below its 52-week high of 09-23-08 and is above its 52-week low of $1.96 set on 03-09-09. At $8.19, TRGL is ahead of both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. TRGL has trailing twelve month revenues of $50 million. TRGL is widely held by institutions. Its shares out versus float ratio is near-parity.
Quarterly Expectations
Gaining an impressive 19.69% ($1.29) in early trading today is Xyratex Ltd., (XRTX) http://www.xyratex.com/ which is currently trading in the $7.85 range on the Nasdaq. XRTX has a new market cap of $231 million. XRTX has a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 146,397 shares and topped 360,850 shares this morning, more than doubling its average.
XRTX management today said it expects revenue for Q3 09 ended August 31, to be approximately $247 million. Analysts were expecting revenue of $214.36 million. XRTX will report final fiscal Q3 results on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
"The third quarter benefited from better than expected sales across our product and customer portfolio, indicating improvements in the overall economy and the relative strength of the storage industry," said Steve Barber, CEO of Xyratex. "Additionally, I was pleased with our execution in reducing costs while at the same time meeting the demand requirements of our customers."
XRTX makes and sells technology that supports storage and data communication networks. It operates in two segments, Networked Storage Solutions and Storage Infrastructure. XRTX sells its products to OEMs and disk drive manufacturers primarily in North America, Asia, and Europe.
At $7.85, XRTX is well below its 52-week high of $13.67 set on 09-12-08 and is above its 52-week low of $1.55 set on 02-02-09. At $7.85, XTRX is ahead of both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. XTRX has trailing twelve month revenues of $944 million. XTRX is widely held by institutions. Its shares out versus float ratio is at parity. Very stable.
A solid Q3 y-o-y EPS sets a 52-week High...
Gaining 10.47% ($0.80) today is S&P SmallCap 600 company Shuffle Master Inc., (SHFL) http://www.shufflemaster.com/ which is currently trading in the $8.50 range on the Nasdaq. SHFL has a new market cap of $455 million. SHFL has a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 385,698 shares and topped 786,622 shares traded by mid-session.
Late yesterday, SHFL reported its Q3 09 numbers: SHFL earned $5.6 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with $3 million, or 8 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts were looking for earnings of 7 cents a share. Revenue fell 9% to $45.1 million. Analysts were looking for revenue of $44.3 million. SHFL product lease and royalty sales rose 5% to $19.2 million. SG&A (selling, general and administrative expenses) fell 19% to $14.2 million. According to management, SHFL Q3 profit jumped 87% as it kept a lid on expenses; a majority of the fall in expenses was due to lower salaries and decreased professional fees.
"We believe we are continuing to strike the right balance between sales and lease revenue while exhibiting improved cost control," said Chief Executive Tim Parrott. "We were encouraged by the amount of lease revenue this quarter; what this says is that the management is executing well on its plan to earn more lease revenue."
SHFL is a gaming supply company that makes, sells and leases products for the gaming industry worldwide. SHFL operates in four segments: Utility, Proprietary Table Games, Electronic Table Systems, and Electronic Gaming Machines. Unit products include: single deck, batch, and continuous shufflers used in card table games and i-Shoe Auto card reading shoe, i-Score baccarat viewer, and roulette chip sorters. SHFL also makes, sells and leases live table games, including: poker, blackjack, baccarat, and pai gow tables as well PC-based video slot machines with a selection of video slot titles.
At $8.50, SHFL will set a 52-week high, topping its previous high of $7.85 set on 08-27-09. SHFL has a 52-week low of $1.97 set on 03-13-09. At $8.50, SHFL is ahead of both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. SHFL has trailing twelve month revenues of $182 million. SHFL is widely held by institutions. Its shares out versus float ratio is at parity. Very stable.
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