NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of egg producer Cal Maine Foods Inc. gained in
premarket trading Friday after the Jackson, Miss., company said its fiscal
second quarter profit soared more than sixfold, as egg prices set records during
the period.
The company said high feed costs continue to pressure the company, but
production should remain profitable in the year ahead.
Shares jumped $3.35, or 13 percent, to $29.20 in premarket electronic
trading, from their close Thursday at $25.85.
Futures trading and the Nasdaq-100 Premarket Indicator suggested stocks
would rebound from their sharp drop Tuesday, following weak economic data and
the political unrest in Pakistan.
Also among the early gainers was Chinese online gaming and Internet portal
company CDC Corp., which said Friday it had bought back more than 2.9 million
shares of stock this year, while company directors and executives have purchased
nearly 468,000 shares in the last two weeks. The company has about 115 million
shares outstanding, according to Thomson Financial.
Since the beginning of the company's share repurchase program on May 2,
2006, nearly 9 million shares were bought by the company and its subsidiaries,
CDC said. The stock price has dropped more than 53 percent during that time, and
has traded between $3.69 and $11.45 in the past 52 weeks, closing at $4.11
Thursday.
Shares added 58 cents, or 14.1 percent, to $4.69 in premarket trading.
On the downside, shares of MBIA Inc. fell following word the beaten down
bond insurer faces new competition in the form of Warren Buffett. The Wall
Street Journal reported that the respected investor will start a bond insurer,
Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp., that will guarantee the bonds of states and
cities to fund public projects like sewers and schools. The company, expected to
get a "AAA" credit rating, will introduce further competition to MBI and rival
Ambac Financial Group Inc., which have both been pressured by the subprime
mortgage crises and face the risk of losing their high credit ratings.
MBI fell 78 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $21.49, from its close at $22.27, down
69.5 percent for the year.
Ambac shares, which closed Thursday at $29.14, down 67.3 percent this year,
slipped 85 cents, or 3 percent, to $28.29.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|