Premarket Movers: Smith & Wesson Rises
NEW YORK --Investors cheered Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.'s third-quarter report and higher 2007 sales outlook, sending the gunmaker's shares higher in Tuesday pre-market electronic trading.
The Springfield, Mass.-based company said 2007 sales will top its prior forecast, thanks to strong sales of its M&P pistol and tactical rifle product lines. A sharp increase in sales also lifted the company's third-quarter profit.
Shares rose $1.02, or 8.1 percent, to $13.50 early Tuesday after finishing at $12.48 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Meanwhile, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., the nation's largest lodging real estate investment trust, jumped after Standard & Poor's said it is adding the company to its S&P 500 index.
Inclusion into the S&P 500 provides a company's stock with an immediate boost because many large mutual funds base their investments on the index's composition. Money managers typically buy shares as they readjust their portfolios once a stock is added to the index.
Host Hotels' stock rose $1.20, or 4.6 percent, to $27.20 in pre-market trading after a $26 finish on the New York Stock Exchange.
GigaMedia Ltd. also gained 27 cents, or 2 percent, to $12.95 after the Taiwan-based operator of online gambling sites and maker of gaming software quadrupled its fourth-quarter profit on higher sales and improved margins.
GigaMedia also expects its investment in Chinese online sports game operator T2CN to contribute to its bottom line in the first quarter. Shares of the company finished at $12.68 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Also, SanDisk Corp. rose 42 cents to $40.59, up from its $40.17 close Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, after a UBS analyst upgraded the shares to "Buy" from "Neutral."
However, Tuesday's session produced a bevy of losers as well.
Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. sank $4.80, or 42 percent, to $6.60 in pre-market trading after the subprime mortgage lender warned it probably won't file its annual report on time.
The company, which has seen its stock price slip along with fellow subprime lender New Century Financial Corp., also said it is mulling strategic alternatives, including cutting additional jobs and raising more capital in order to provide flexibility to retain or sell originated loans.
Shares of the company finished at $11.40 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Meanwhile, Wireless Facilities Inc. also declined after the company warned late Monday it cannot file financial results until a review of past stock-option practices is complete.
Wireless Facilities, which designs, manages and performs other services on communications networks for wireless operators, also said it will take a hefty impairment charge related to acquisitions made in its Enterprise Network Services segment.
The stock lost 50 cents, or 23.8 percent, to $1.60 in the pre-market session after finishing at $2.10 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Finally, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker, slipped in early trading after a UBS analyst downgraded the shares to "Reduce" from "Buy."
The stock slid 50 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $18.36 after closing Monday at $18.86 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
