Category: Uncategorized

Russell Reconstitution Day Approaches: Small Caps Prepare for a Surge in Trading Activity

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The annual Russell Index reconstitution becomes official after the market closes on Friday, June 26, setting the stage for one of the busiest trading sessions of the year for small-cap stocks.

While the event occurs every June, this year’s reconstitution arrives amid renewed investor interest in small caps and follows a strong first half for many emerging growth companies. As index funds and ETFs rebalance portfolios to reflect the new membership lists, millions of shares are expected to change hands during Friday’s closing auction.

For companies being added to the Russell 2000 and Russell Microcap indexes, inclusion can provide increased visibility, improved liquidity, and exposure to a broader institutional investor base.

Hundreds of Companies Set to Join Russell Indexes

FTSE Russell’s preliminary lists show hundreds of companies scheduled for addition across the Russell index family. The Russell 2000 is expected to add more than 200 companies, while numerous smaller firms will enter the Russell Microcap Index.

Several notable additions have already attracted investor attention, particularly among healthcare, technology, industrial, and defense-related companies. Healthcare remains the largest source of new additions, reflecting the continued recovery in small-cap biotech valuations. Technology and industrial companies also represent a significant portion of new constituents.

Why Friday Matters

The actual reconstitution occurs during the closing auction on Friday, often producing extraordinary trading volumes in affected stocks.

Passive funds tracking Russell indexes must adjust their holdings to match the updated index composition. This creates concentrated buying in newly added companies and selling in stocks being removed.

For some smaller companies, the volume traded during the closing auction can exceed multiple days’ worth of normal trading activity.

Historically, stocks scheduled for inclusion often experience elevated volume leading into reconstitution day as traders attempt to position ahead of index fund purchases. The largest impact, however, typically occurs during the final minutes of trading on the effective date.

Institutional Visibility Can Be a Catalyst

Although index inclusion does not change a company’s fundamentals, it can increase awareness among institutional investors that may have previously overlooked the stock.

For smaller companies, particularly those transitioning from micro-cap status, Russell inclusion often serves as a milestone. Increased liquidity can improve trading efficiency, broaden ownership, and potentially attract additional analyst coverage.

Investors should remember that index inclusion alone rarely drives long-term performance. Ultimately, earnings growth, execution, and capital allocation remain the primary determinants of shareholder returns.

Looking Beyond Reconstitution Day

Once Friday’s rebalance is complete, attention will shift from index mechanics back to fundamentals.

Nevertheless, Russell reconstitution remains one of the most important annual events for the small-cap market. For investors, it provides a snapshot of which companies have achieved sufficient scale and market value to earn inclusion in one of the most widely followed small-cap benchmarks.

As the closing bell approaches on Friday, traders and portfolio managers alike will be watching closely as billions of dollars are repositioned across the small-cap landscape.

Notable Companies Joining the Russell Indexes

This year’s reconstitution includes companies from a wide range of industries, underscoring the diversity of today’s small-cap market. Among the companies expected to be added to the Russell indexes are Conduent (NASDAQ: CNDT), Star Equity Holdings (NASDAQ: STRR), The Beachbody Company (NYSE: BODI), Vince Holding Corp. (NYSE: VNCE), Commercial Vehicle Group (NASDAQ: CVGI), FreightCar America (NASDAQ: RAIL), Ocugen (NASDAQ: OCGN), Twin Disc (NASDAQ: TWIN), and Unicycive Therapeutics (NASDAQ: UNCY).

The additions span sectors including business services, industrials, consumer discretionary, transportation, healthcare, and technology. Russell membership is determined through FTSE Russell’s annual reconstitution process, which ranks eligible U.S. companies by market capitalization and other index criteria. The final index changes become effective after the market closes on June 27.

Boundless Bio Pivots From Cancer to a Rare Genetic Disease in a Reverse Merger With Serapha Bio

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In a transaction that illustrates how struggling clinical-stage biotechs are increasingly being repurposed as vehicles for more promising assets, Boundless Bio (Nasdaq: BOLD) announced Tuesday it has entered into a definitive all-stock merger agreement with privately held Serapha Bio. The deal will see Serapha combine with Boundless Bio and effectively take over the public company, pivoting the combined entity away from Boundless’s cancer research and toward Serapha’s gene editing therapy for a serious inherited disease. Boundless Bio shares surged approximately 75% on the news to around $2.50.

Upon completion, the combined company will operate under the name Serapha Bio and is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol “AATD” — a direct reference to the disease its lead program targets.

The Structure of the Deal

This is a reverse merger, a structure in which a private company merges into a public one to gain a stock market listing without conducting a traditional IPO. The ownership split makes the dynamic clear: pre-merger Boundless Bio stockholders are expected to own approximately 3.7% of the combined company, while pre-merger Serapha stockholders — including investors participating in the concurrent financing — will own approximately 96.3%.

Two features make this transaction particularly notable for shareholders. First, alongside the merger, Serapha is raising $230 million in a concurrent private placement co-led by RTW Investments and RA Capital Management, with participation from a syndicate of top healthcare investors and mutual funds. That level of institutional backing provides the combined company with substantial capital to advance its lead program through clinical development. Second, prior to closing, Boundless Bio expects to declare a cash dividend to its pre-merger stockholders to distribute excess net cash, currently estimated at approximately $44 million to $48 million. That dividend, combined with the stock’s jump, gives existing Boundless holders both an immediate cash return and continued exposure to the new program.

What Serapha Is Actually Developing

Serapha’s lead program, SERP-01, is an investigational in vivo base editing therapy targeting Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a serious inherited genetic disorder that can cause progressive lung and liver disease. The therapy specifically targets the SERPINA1 E342K mutation — known as the PiZZ genotype — which is the most common cause of severe AATD. The company has reported proof-of-concept data demonstrating restoration of serum AAT to normal levels, an encouraging early signal for a disease that currently has limited treatment options.

The asset has an international development backstory. Serapha licensed SERP-01, developed as YOLT-202 in Greater China, from YolTech Therapeutics in June 2026 in exchange for an upfront cash payment and a minority equity stake. Under the agreement, YolTech is eligible to receive regulatory and commercial milestones totaling over $2 billion plus tiered royalties, while retaining development and commercialization rights for the Greater China territory. YolTech has been enrolling AATD patients in an investigator-initiated trial at Renji Hospital in Shanghai.

The Small Cap Biotech Read

For investors tracking the small and microcap biotech space, this transaction reflects a pattern that has become increasingly common in 2026. Clinical-stage companies whose original programs have stalled or been deprioritized are valuable to private biotechs precisely because of what they already possess: a Nasdaq listing, a cash balance, and an existing shareholder base. Rather than navigate the lengthy and uncertain IPO process, a promising private company like Serapha can access public markets, raise institutional capital, and advance its lead asset all in a single coordinated transaction.

The base editing space in particular has attracted significant investor attention as next-generation gene editing technologies move from theoretical promise toward clinical proof of concept. With $230 million in fresh capital, validated early data, and a clear regulatory target in a serious genetic disease, the newly formed Serapha Bio enters the public market positioned to advance one of the more closely watched programs in the in vivo base editing field. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to stockholder approval and customary closing conditions.

Graham (GHM) – Investor Day Highlights the Future

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Monday, June 22, 2026

Joe Gomes, CFA, Managing Director, Equity Research Analyst, Generalist , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Investor Day. Graham management held an Investor Day last Thursday. Although the Company’s history extends back over 90 years, Graham is less than five years into the transformation of a reimagined company. Management went into depth on how the transformed Graham has expanded its capabilities, entered new markets, and positioned itself at the center of extraordinary growth opportunities.

New Markets. Graham has expanded its total addressable market over time, both organically and inorganically, through acquisitions such as Barber-Nichols in 2021, P3 Technologies in 2023, X-Dot in October 2025, and FlackTek in January 2026. The M&A pipeline remains robust, and we believe we could see ongoing transactions every 12-18 months to complement and expand the current product line and markets served.


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Pump Prices Fall Under $4 Just in Time for Summer Travel Season

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The energy shock that defined the spring of 2026 is unwinding, and American consumers are feeling it at the pump just in time for summer. The national average price of regular gasoline fell to $3.99 per gallon Thursday, dropping below the $4 threshold for the first time in months and delivering meaningful relief to households that watched prices climb above $4.50 per gallon only a month ago at the height of the US-Iran conflict.

For the small and microcap companies that spent the spring absorbing elevated fuel costs with limited ability to pass them through, the decline is more than a consumer story. It is the early stage of a margin recovery that could reshape the second half of the year.

What’s Driving the Decline

The catalyst is diplomatic. Following President Trump’s announcement Sunday that Washington and Tehran had agreed to terms on a 60-day memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the three-month conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic, crude oil prices have fallen sharply. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has dropped roughly 13% over the past five trading sessions to trade firmly below $80 per barrel for the first time since the early days of the war. US benchmark WTI crude has fallen even harder, shedding approximately 15% to trade below $75.

The scale of the recovery reflects the scale of the disruption. The shuttering of the Strait of Hormuz removed more than one billion barrels of oil from the global market over three months, creating one of the most severe supply squeezes in years. Gasoline and other crude derivatives, which carry embedded refining costs and are stored in smaller quantities, experienced even more dramatic price swings than crude itself — which is precisely why they are now falling quickly as the supply picture normalizes.

Industry analysts project the national average could head toward $3.70 per gallon in the near term as the Iran agreement takes hold and movement through the strait resumes, with diesel prices expected to fall below $5 per gallon shortly after.

The Small Cap Margin Story

For consumer-facing companies in the sub-$2 billion market cap range, the decline in fuel costs is a direct and measurable tailwind. Throughout the spring, regional trucking companies, last-mile delivery operators, food service businesses, and logistics providers absorbed surging diesel and gasoline costs that compressed already thin operating margins. Unlike large cap peers with hedging programs and pricing power, smaller operators had few options beyond eating the costs or risking demand destruction by raising prices.

That pressure is now reversing. Lower fuel costs flow almost immediately through to the operating expenses of transportation and logistics-dependent companies. Credit card data throughout the spring showed consumers spending an increasing share of their budgets on gasoline while cutting back elsewhere — a dynamic that squeezed discretionary small cap retailers and restaurant operators. As pump prices fall, that discretionary spending capacity returns, potentially benefiting the consumer-facing companies that had been most pressured.

The Caveats Worth Watching

The recovery is not without risk. Gasoline prices remain elevated above prewar levels, and a well-documented market phenomenon often described as “rockets and feathers” means pump prices tend to rise quickly when crude climbs but fall more slowly on the way back down. The timing of the Strait of Hormuz fully reopening remains uncertain, which means oil prices are unlikely to collapse dramatically as summer driving demand builds.

A more immediate threat comes from the weather. Tropical Storm Arthur is expected to impact the US Gulf Coast, home to the nation’s largest refinery complex. With US refineries already running at 97% of capacity according to federal data, any disruption from flooding could squeeze a system operating at its limit and temporarily reverse some of the relief now reaching consumers.

Barring significant storm damage or other disruptions, analysts project national average gasoline prices could fall below $3 per gallon by year-end, with diesel below $4. For the small cap companies that endured the spring squeeze, that would represent a full-circle recovery — and a meaningful tailwind heading into 2027.

Intel Surges on Reported Apple Deal as One of the Year’s Most Dramatic Turnarounds Gains Steam

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Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) stock soared more than 11% Thursday after President Trump posted on Truth Social that Apple has agreed to work with the chipmaker to build its processors. The announcement followed an earlier Wall Street Journal report that the two companies had reached a preliminary agreement under which Intel would manufacture chips for the iPhone maker. Intel declined to comment on the report.

The move caps an extraordinary run for a company that was written off by much of Wall Street barely a year ago. Intel stock has now climbed more than 250% since the start of 2026 and roughly 500% over the past twelve months, making it one of the most dramatic corporate turnarounds in the technology sector.

Why the Apple Report Matters

The significance of a potential Apple partnership is as much symbolic as it is financial. Apple previously relied on Intel chips for its laptops and desktops before abandoning the company in favor of designing its own custom silicon — a high-profile departure that came to symbolize Intel’s competitive decline over the past decade. A renewed manufacturing relationship, even a modest one, would represent a meaningful reversal of that narrative.

Industry analysts have tempered expectations on the initial scope. Early commentary suggests any first agreement would likely involve lower-volume, less critical components rather than Apple’s flagship processors. Intel will need to prove its manufacturing reliability before earning more substantial business. But as analysts noted, the first step is always the hardest — and Intel appears to be taking it.

A Foundry Strategy Finally Paying Off

The Apple report does not exist in isolation. It is the latest in a series of developments validating Intel’s multi-year effort to build out its foundry business — the arm of the company that manufactures chips for third-party customers rather than just for Intel itself. Recent reports indicate Intel will build three million Tensor Processing Units for Google, and that Nvidia is exploring using Intel to fabricate some of its own processors. Earlier this week, Intel announced that its latest 18A-P processor node has entered initial production, a key step toward full-volume manufacturing.

The turnaround effort began under former CEO Pat Gelsinger and has continued under current CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has focused on aggressive cost-cutting while driving the foundry arm to secure external manufacturing deals. That strategy is now benefiting from favorable industry dynamics. TSMC, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, has been unable to provide enough capacity for all of its customers, forcing fabless chip companies — those without their own manufacturing capabilities — to seek alternative production partners. Intel has emerged as one of the few viable options.

The AI Tailwind Beneath It All

Underpinning the entire Intel story is the AI build-out and a structural shift in chip demand. While graphics processing units remain central to AI data centers, central processing units have become increasingly important as AI firms lean into agentic applications — digital assistants capable of performing tasks on a user’s behalf. As AI agents begin running more operations across networks, they increasingly rely on CPUs to complete requests, a segment where Intel holds genuine strength.

For investors tracking the broader semiconductor ecosystem, Intel’s resurgence carries a wider signal. The capacity constraints pushing major customers toward Intel are the same constraints reshaping the entire chip supply chain. Smaller semiconductor companies, specialty foundry service providers, and advanced packaging firms operating in adjacent parts of that supply chain are positioned within the same demand environment driving Intel’s recovery. When the largest chip customers cannot get enough capacity from the dominant manufacturer, the effects ripple across the entire sector — and the smaller companies serving that demand are worth watching closely.

Intel was left for dead a year ago. A 500% move later, the turnaround is no longer a thesis. It is happening.

The Fed’s New Era Starts Now – Warsh Holds Rates, Drops the Easing Bias, and Skips His Own Dot

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Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Federal Reserve Chair delivered exactly the kind of message markets had been bracing for. The Federal Open Market Committee voted Wednesday to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75% — the fourth consecutive hold — while removing the easing bias that had defined the Fed’s communication through the prior cycle and signaling, through its updated projections, that the next move is now more likely to be up than down.

The major averages slid into negative territory following the 2:00 PM ET announcement as investors absorbed a decidedly more hawkish posture from the central bank under its new leadership. The rate decision itself was never in doubt — futures had priced a hold at roughly 97%. What moved markets was everything around the number.

The Dot Plot Turns Hawkish

The headline shift came in the updated Summary of Economic Projections. Of the 18 Fed officials who submitted forecasts, nine now project the federal funds rate finishing 2026 above its current target range — a near-even split that puts at least one 2026 rate hike formally on the table. As recently as March, the committee’s projections had included a rate cut for the year. That cut is now gone, replaced by a median outlook that effectively signals rates will remain elevated through year-end with hikes a live possibility.

For a market that spent much of June pricing in a roughly 68% probability of a 25 basis point hike by December, the projections served as validation rather than surprise. But validation from the Fed itself carries weight that market speculation does not, and Treasury yields and equities repriced accordingly.

Warsh Makes His Mark on Process

The most distinctive element of the meeting was structural. Warsh confirmed he deliberately withheld his own projection from the dot plot — the missing submission that analysts had flagged in the data. He explained that while he has encouraged his colleagues to continue submitting forecasts, he has refrained from offering his own, consistent with long-held views about the Summary of Economic Projections as currently structured.

The decision reflects Warsh’s well-documented preference for a “less-is-more” approach to forward guidance, a philosophy that could meaningfully reduce the Fed’s predictability going forward. Warsh also announced the creation of a task force to overhaul major Federal Reserve operations, signaling early that his tenure will involve institutional change beyond the quarter-to-quarter rate decisions. A new chair reshaping how the Fed communicates introduces a variable markets have not had to price in years.

Why This Matters for Smaller Companies

For investors in the small and microcap space, the message from Warsh’s debut is direct and consequential. Small and microcap companies carry disproportionately more variable-rate debt than their large cap counterparts, which means the removal of the easing bias and the hawkish shift in projections translate into a tangible extension of the higher-cost-of-capital environment these companies have been navigating all year.

The rate relief that smaller, more leveraged companies had been counting on to refinance debt and expand margins now appears to be off the table through at least the end of 2026 — and a hike before year-end is a genuine possibility rather than a tail risk. The Russell 2000 has spent the year caught between strong underlying fundamentals and a punishing rate backdrop, and Wednesday’s meeting tilts that balance back toward the rate headwind in the near term.

The longer-term setup for small caps remains intact: historic valuation discounts, improving earnings growth, and domestic revenue exposure that insulates these companies from global trade friction. But the path there now runs through a Fed that has made clear it will not ease until inflation, currently running at 4.2%, moves decisively toward target. Warsh has set the tone. The market heard it clearly.

The Fed Meets This Week in Kevin Warsh’s First Test. The Dot Plot Matters More Than the Decision.

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The Federal Open Market Committee convenes Tuesday and Wednesday for what is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched meetings in recent memory — not because of what the Fed is expected to do, but because of what it is expected to signal. The committee will almost certainly leave the federal funds rate unchanged at its current range of 3.50% to 3.75%, with futures markets pricing in a 99.6% probability of no change. The rate decision is effectively a foregone conclusion. Everything else about this meeting is not.

This is Kevin Warsh’s first FOMC meeting as Federal Reserve Chair, following Jerome Powell’s departure in May. It arrives at a moment of genuine tension within the committee and a macroeconomic backdrop that has scrambled the Fed’s traditional playbook. For investors in the small and microcap space, where borrowing costs and rate expectations weigh more heavily than almost any other variable, the signals coming out of Wednesday’s meeting matter enormously.

The Bias Shift to Watch

The single most important element of this meeting is language, not numbers. For the past three consecutive meetings, the FOMC has included an identical sentence in its post-meeting statement reflecting an inclination toward easing rates in the months ahead. The question now is whether the committee removes or revises that language — shifting its bias from easing toward neutral, or potentially even toward tightening.

That shift would be significant. Under the Fed’s traditional framework, rate cuts are appropriate when inflation is tame and the labor market is struggling. The current environment is the inverse: inflation is running at 4.2% year over year, the highest in three years, while the May jobs report showed the economy adding 172,000 positions, nearly double expectations. Under a strict reading of the dual mandate, those conditions argue for tighter policy, not looser. The market is watching to see whether Warsh’s committee acknowledges that reality in its statement language.

A Committee Already Divided

Warsh inherits a committee that is showing unusual signs of internal disagreement. The May meeting produced four dissents — the most since late 1992. One policymaker favored cutting rates outright, while three others objected to the easing bias in the statement, signaling they believed the Fed’s tone was too dovish given the inflation backdrop. That depth of division is rare and it complicates Warsh’s task in his first meeting. Building consensus around a unified message will be one of the early tests of his chairmanship.

Why the Dot Plot Is the Real Event

Alongside the rate decision, the Fed will release its updated Summary of Economic Projections — the so-called dot plot — which maps where each committee member expects rates to head over the coming years. Heading into this meeting, traders see close to a 50% probability of at least one rate hike before year-end, a dramatic reversal from the two cuts that consensus expected as recently as March. If the dot plot reflects a committee leaning toward hikes, Treasury yields will likely move higher and the entire rate-sensitive corner of the market will reprice accordingly.

Warsh’s post-decision press conference is the other key moment. Markets are still calibrating his reputation as a policy hawk, and his tone on the path forward — whether he leaves the door open to hikes or pushes back on that speculation — will set the direction for rate expectations through the summer.

The Small Cap Stakes

For companies in the sub-$2 billion market cap range, this meeting carries direct consequences. Small and microcap companies carry disproportionately more variable-rate debt than their large cap counterparts, which means their interest expense moves in near real time with rate expectations. A committee that signals higher-for-longer, or hints at hikes, extends the timeline for the rate relief that smaller, more leveraged companies have been counting on to refinance debt and expand margins.

The Russell 2000 has spent much of 2026 caught between strong underlying fundamentals and a punishing rate environment. Wednesday afternoon will go a long way toward determining which of those forces dominates heading into the second half of the year. The Fed may not move a single basis point this week. It can still move the market.

Release – Graham Corporation to Host an Analyst & Investor Day on June 18th, 2026

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Graham Corporation

Research News and Market Data on GHM

June 15, 2026 4:05pm EDTDownload as PDF

BATAVIA, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Graham Corporation (NYSE: GHM) (“GHM” or the “Company”), a global leader in the design and manufacture of mission critical fluid, power, heat transfer, vacuum, and advanced mixing technologies for the Defense, Space, Energy, and Process industries, today announced it plans to host an Analyst & Investor Day on Thursday, June 18th, 2026. The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET and will feature sessions led by Matthew J. Malone, President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher J. Thome, Vice President – Finance and CFO, and other members of the management team.

A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed by registering for the event HERE, or by going to the Events & Presentation section of the Company’s investor relations website at https://ir.grahamcorp.com/news-events/events-presentations. A replay will be available following the event.

About Graham Corporation

Graham is a global leader in the design and manufacture of mission critical fluid, power, heat transfer, vacuum, and advanced mixing technologies for the Defense, Space, Energy, and Process industries. Graham Corporation and its family of global brands are built upon world-renowned engineering expertise, proprietary technologies, as well as its responsive and flexible service and the unsurpassed quality customers have come to expect from the Company’s products and systems. Graham Corporation routinely posts news and other important information on its website, grahamcorp.com, where additional information on Graham Corporation and its businesses can be found.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260615586338/en/

Christopher J. Thome
Vice President – Finance and CFO
Phone: (585) 343-2216

Tom Cook
Investor Relations
(203) 682-8250
[email protected]

Source: Graham Corporation

Released June 15, 2026

Consumer Confidence Rose in June for the First Time in Three Months

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The American consumer is feeling marginally better in June — but marginally is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The University of Michigan’s preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment came in at 48.9 for June, up from 44.8 in May, which had been the lowest reading in the survey’s 74-year history. The improvement represents a 9% month-over-month gain and breaks a three-consecutive-month decline that had been weighing on every consumer-facing sector of the market.

The bounce, however, leaves sentiment still 19.4% below where it stood a year ago and below April’s final reading of 49.8. Survey director Joanne Hsu described views of the economy as “still relatively dour,” and noted that Americans continue to feel burdened by recent price increases and worry that elevated inflation will remain stubborn going forward. The improvement is real. It is not a turning point.

What Drove the June Bounce

The primary catalyst is straightforward: gas prices have pulled back from their recent highs. After surpassing $4.50 per gallon nationally and breaching $4 in every US state simultaneously in May — a historic first driven entirely by the US-Iran conflict and the disruption to Strait of Hormuz oil flows — pump prices have eased modestly. The national average is now below $4.50, though still approximately $1 above pre-war levels. California continues to post averages above $6 per gallon.

Lower-income consumers drove the largest share of the sentiment improvement in June, which is consistent with the fact that gasoline represents a proportionally larger share of spending for households at the lower end of the income spectrum. When gas prices fall even modestly, it has an outsized effect on the confidence of the consumers who feel energy costs most acutely.

Inflation expectations also showed tentative improvement. Year-ahead inflation forecasts fell to 4.6% from 4.8% in May, and long-run expectations declined to 3.4% from 3.9% — which had been the highest reading since October 2025. Both moves are directionally encouraging but remain well above the 2.8% to 3.2% range that prevailed throughout 2024. GasBuddy cautioned that the coast is “anything but clear” given continued uncertainty over a permanent Iran peace agreement and its implications for oil supply.

The Mortgage Rate Counterweight

The June sentiment improvement needs to be read alongside a data point moving in the opposite direction. As we covered earlier, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 6.52% this week, driven by the same hot inflation data and blowout jobs report that are now showing early signs of easing in consumer sentiment. Mortgage rates have now hovered near 6.5% for four consecutive weeks, suppressing housing affordability and keeping the refinance market effectively frozen for millions of homeowners.

The consumer is getting a mixed signal: modest relief at the pump on one hand, and a housing market that remains structurally inaccessible for many buyers on the other. Gas prices and mortgage rates are pulling in opposite directions, and the net effect is a consumer who is slightly less pessimistic than last month but far from confident.

The Small Cap Implications

For consumer-facing companies in the sub-$2 billion market cap space, June’s sentiment bounce is welcome but insufficient to change the operating environment materially. Regional restaurant operators, specialty retailers, leisure travel companies, and consumer discretionary brands have been navigating compressed discretionary spending for months. A move from 44.8 to 48.9 in the sentiment index does not meaningfully alter that dynamic.

What would change it is a sustained decline in energy costs tied to a durable Iran peace agreement, which remains unresolved, combined with a Federal Reserve that begins signaling rate relief. Neither of those conditions is in place heading into next week’s FOMC meeting. The consumer is breathing slightly easier in June. The pressure has not lifted.

Graham (GHM) – Building Momentum Ends in a Record Year

Posted on by [email protected]


Tuesday, June 09, 2026

Joe Gomes, CFA, Managing Director, Equity Research Analyst, Generalist , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Overview. Fiscal 2026 was another year of strong execution and continued progress against the strategic objectives Graham management has outlined. The Company generated record annual revenue, record orders, and record backlog, ending the year with a book-to-bill of 1.5x. These results reflect the strength of Graham’s diversified business model and the long-term demand environment across its core markets, in our view.

FY4Q and Full Year ’26 Results. Fourth quarter revenue was a record $67.1 million, up 13% y-o-y. Gross margin declined to 22.7% from 27% last year, mostly due to mix. Quarterly adjusted EBITDA totaled $6.8 million versus $7.7 million last year, while adjusted net income was $3.7 million, or $0.33/sh, compared to $4.8 million and $0.43/sh in 4Q25. Full-year revenue was a record $245.3 million, up 17%, gross margin was 23.5% versus 25.2%, adjusted EBITDA was $26 million, up from $22.5 million, and adjusted net income was $16 million, or $1.40/sh, compared to $13.7 million, or $1.24/sh, in FY 2025. 


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Novanta Pays Up to $1.45 Billion for Riverpoint Medical as the Minimally Invasive Surgery Market Heats Up

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Novanta Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVT), a Boston-based technology partner to medical and industrial original equipment manufacturers, announced Tuesday it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Riverpoint Medical from private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners in a deal valued at up to $1.45 billion. The transaction includes $1.2 billion in upfront cash consideration at closing, expected in the third quarter of 2026, and a $250 million milestone payment scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

The acquisition is immediately accretive to Novanta’s revenue growth, adjusted gross margins, adjusted EBITDA margins, adjusted diluted earnings per share, and operating cash flows. Critically, it doubles Novanta’s recurring medical consumables revenue in a single transaction — a portfolio transformation that meaningfully reduces the business cyclicality that has historically characterized the company’s industrial revenue exposure.

What Riverpoint Medical Brings to the Table

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Riverpoint Medical is a developer, designer, and manufacturer of highly engineered minimally invasive surgical consumables and instruments. The company’s core competency is advanced surgical fiber technology — proprietary implants and constructs used across high-growth end markets including sports medicine, trauma, and cardiovascular surgery. Riverpoint operates as a private-label supplier to strategic OEM partners, manufacturing products that carry those partners’ brands rather than its own, embedding itself deeply into customer supply chains in a way that generates durable, recurring revenue relationships.

That business model is precisely what makes the acquisition strategically coherent for Novanta. Medical consumables consumed during surgical procedures are replaced with every case, creating a revenue stream that is predictable, recurring, and largely insulated from the capital equipment budget cycles that create volatility in Novanta’s industrial segment.

Riverpoint operates manufacturing facilities across North America and has invested in international production capacity, including a facility in Costa Rica’s Zona Franca Coyol free trade zone. Novanta has signaled a clear intention to accelerate Riverpoint’s European expansion by leveraging its existing international OEM customer relationships — creating a near-term revenue lever that organic growth alone could not have achieved as quickly.

The Minimally Invasive Surgery Tailwind

The strategic backdrop for this deal is straightforward. Minimally invasive surgery has been one of the most consistently high-growth segments in medical device markets for over a decade, driven by an aging global population, preference for shorter recovery times, reduced hospital stay costs, and continuous procedural innovation. The sports medicine and orthopedic segments in particular have seen sustained volume growth as active aging and sports participation rates support a durable patient pipeline.

For small and microcap investors tracking the medical device and surgical technology space, the Novanta-Riverpoint deal is a signal that strategic acquirers continue to assign premium valuations to companies with recurring revenue models, proprietary technology, and deep OEM integration in high-volume surgical end markets. Arlington Capital Partners built Riverpoint through targeted acquisitions, including the purchase of CP Medical in June 2024, before achieving a full exit to a public company buyer at a significant return.

The structure of the deal — with $250 million in contingent milestone consideration — reflects the forward growth expectations embedded in the transaction and aligns both parties around Riverpoint’s continued performance post-close.

Iran and Israel Exchanged Strikes Over the Weekend. Markets Are Climbing Anyway

Posted on by [email protected]

The Middle East ceasefire that had been pushing oil prices lower and lifting consumer-facing small caps out of a months-long margin squeeze took a significant blow over the weekend. Iran and Israel exchanged military strikes in a direct escalation that threatened to unravel the fragile framework that US and Gulf state diplomats had been carefully assembling since late May. Oil prices rose sharply on the news. The geopolitical risk premium that had been slowly draining out of the market snapped back in an instant.

And yet Monday morning, US equity markets are climbing. The Nasdaq is rebounding from Friday’s steep losses. The Russell 2000 is recovering alongside it. Investors looked at the weekend’s escalation and largely decided to keep buying.

The Pattern That Keeps Repeating

This is not the first time the market has absorbed a Middle East shock and moved higher. Throughout the Iran conflict that began February 28, equity markets have repeatedly demonstrated a capacity to digest geopolitical escalation faster than most historical precedents would suggest. Each time the news cycle generates a fresh crisis — strikes, drone exchanges, ceasefire collapses, renewed negotiations — the initial market reaction has been sharp and the recovery has followed within sessions rather than weeks.

The explanation is not that investors are ignoring the conflict. It is that the underlying economic data keeps coming in strong enough to compete with the geopolitical noise for the market’s attention. Last Friday’s May payroll report showed 172,000 jobs added against expectations of just 88,000 — nearly double the consensus estimate. Consumer spending data has held up. Corporate earnings, particularly in AI infrastructure and energy, have been robust. The domestic economy that small cap companies are most exposed to has continued to perform even as the broader geopolitical environment remains unsettled.

The Oil Variable

The weekend escalation immediately reversed some of the oil price relief that had been building since late May when a draft memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran first circulated. WTI crude, which had pulled back toward $90 on ceasefire optimism, moved higher Monday as the market repriced the probability of a near-term resolution. The Strait of Hormuz situation, which we have been tracking closely since the conflict began, remains the central variable. Any sustained closure or re-escalation of maritime disruption would send prices back toward the levels that were squeezing small cap consumer and logistics companies through most of April and May.

The Iran-Israel dimension adds a new layer of complexity to what had been framed primarily as a US-Iran negotiation. Israeli strikes on Iranian territory and Iranian retaliatory fire represent a direct bilateral military exchange that operates on a different diplomatic track than the economic negotiations brokered through Gulf intermediaries.

What Resilient Markets Are Telling Small Cap Investors

The market’s repeated ability to recover from geopolitical shocks carries a specific message for investors in the sub-$2 billion market cap space. Domestically focused small cap companies generate approximately 80% of their revenue inside the United States. Their fundamental performance is far more tied to the strength of the domestic labor market, consumer spending patterns, and the rate environment than to the outcome of overseas conflicts — unless those conflicts translate into sustained inflation through energy prices.

That is the key variable to watch. If the Iran-Israel escalation remains contained and does not materially disrupt oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the market’s Monday morning recovery is likely to hold. If it escalates into a broader regional event that pushes WTI back above $100 and reignites inflation expectations, the calculus for the Federal Reserve and for small cap borrowing costs changes quickly.

For now the market has made its read. The Russell 2000 is green on Monday morning despite a weekend of serious geopolitical news. That is a data point worth noting.

Release – Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. Expands Oil & Gas Royalties Platform With $206 Million Acquisition

Posted on by [email protected]

TULSA, Okla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) (“ARLP” or the “Partnership”) today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire certain general partner and limited partner interests in AllDale Minerals III, LP and AllDale Minerals IV, LP (collectively, “AllDale III & IV”) for approximately $206.2 million, subject to customary closing price adjustments.

The transaction implies an aggregate gross valuation for AllDale III & IV of approximately $410.0 million. The general partner and limited partner interests being sold by the third-party selling interest holders are valued at approximately $306.2 million, with $206.2 million of the interests to be acquired by ARLP and $100.0 million of the interests to be acquired by related parties of Joseph W. Craft III, ARLP’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The difference between the $410.0 million aggregate gross valuation and the $306.2 million value of interests being acquired reflects existing interests already owned by ARLP and related parties of Mr. Craft.

Upon closing, ARLP’s aggregate economic interest across AllDale III & IV is expected to increase from approximately 5% to 61% and ARLP, through a wholly owned subsidiary, is expected to own 100% of the general partner interests of AllDale III & IV, that will be non-economic post-closing.

The agreements provide for an effective date of April 1, 2026, and the transaction is expected to close during July 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Given the participation in the transaction by related parties of Mr. Craft, the terms of the transaction were approved by the conflicts committee of the Board of Directors of ARLP’s general partner, which is comprised entirely of independent directors.

AllDale III & IV Acquisition Highlights

  • AllDale III & IV hold approximately 48,500 net royalty acres (“NRAs”) across premier basins and resource plays including the Permian, Anadarko, Bakken, and Haynesville
  • The Permian represents approximately 7,300 of the NRAs and 52% of 1Q26 total royalty revenue
  • Average 1Q26 production of approximately 5,940 BOE per day in total and 3,665 BOE per day net to ARLP’s economic interests(1), consisting of 27% oil, 18% NGLs, and 55% natural gas
  • Approximately 67% of 1Q26 total royalty revenue was generated from oil
  • The acquisition further de-risks ARLP’s existing minerals portfolio via a gross core acreage expansion with limited overlap to ARLP’s existing royalty asset base
  • Meaningfully enhances ARLP’s northern Delaware, Anadarko, and Bakken positions, increasing trailing-twelve-month new wells placed on production by 59%, 78%, and 91%, respectively
  • Provides entry into the Haynesville, a key natural gas resource play supporting LNG export demand
  • Implied acquisition multiple on the general partner and limited partner interests being acquired by ARLP of approximately 5.0x projected next-twelve-month Adjusted EBITDA, based on commodity strip pricing as of June 5, 2026, and inclusive of existing AllDale III & IV hedges to be assumed at closing
  • Expected to be immediately accretive to ARLP’s free cash flow per unit, based on current assumptions
  • ARLP’s acquisition is expected to be funded through a combination of cash on hand, borrowings under ARLP’s revolving credit facility, and a new debt facility at Alliance Minerals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of ARLP
  • Pro forma total leverage is expected to remain below 1.0x following the closing of the transaction

Pro Forma ARLP Oil & Gas Royalties Segment Highlights

Upon closing the transaction, ARLP is expected to have:

  • Control of approximately 115,680 NRAs, with over 44,770 NRAs in the Permian
  • Average 1Q26 production of approximately 17,295 BOE per day in total, and 14,285 BOE per day net to ARLP’s economic interests(1)
  • Exposure to 59 gross active rigs across the pro forma portfolio, including 47 gross active rigs on Permian acreage

(1) Net BOE per day attributable to ARLP’s economic interests represents ARLP’s acquired share of production after excluding noncontrolling interests.

Management Commentary

“This acquisition accelerates the continued growth of our Oil & Gas Royalties segment,” said Mr. Craft. “The AllDale III & IV portfolio adds scale and development upside across multiple U.S. basins, anchored by a meaningful Permian position. It also expands our natural gas footprint with entry into the Haynesville, a resource play well-positioned to benefit from long-term LNG export demand growth.”

Mr. Craft continued, “We believe this acquisition strengthens ARLP’s long-term royalty platform, broadens our exposure to high-quality operators and advances our long-term strategy of building a durable, cash-generating royalties business that complements our existing coal operations.”

Cary Marshall, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, added, “The participation by related parties of Mr. Craft is expected to enhance the capital efficiency of the transaction for ARLP. We expect this structure will generate attractive risk-adjusted returns, maintain pro forma leverage below 1.0x, and preserve liquidity for future growth opportunities.”

About Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.

ARLP is a diversified natural resource company that is currently the second largest coal producer in the eastern United States, supplying reliable, affordable energy domestically and internationally to major utilities, metallurgical and industrial users. ARLP also generates operating and royalty income from mineral interests it owns in strategic coal and oil & gas producing regions in the United States. In addition, ARLP is positioning itself as a reliable energy partner for the future by pursuing opportunities that support the growth and development of energy-related technologies and infrastructure.

News, unit prices and additional information about ARLP, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), are available at www.arlp.com. For more information, contact the investor relations department of ARLP at (918) 295-7673 or via e-mail at [email protected].

The statements and projections used throughout this release are based on current expectations. These statements and projections are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. These projections do not include the potential impact of any mergers, acquisitions or other business combinations that may occur after the date of this release. We have included more information below regarding business risks that could affect our results.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: With the exception of historical matters, any matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Those forward-looking statements include expectations with respect to our future financial and operational performance, coal and oil & gas consumption and expected future prices, our ability to increase or maintain unitholder distributions in future quarters, business plans and potential growth with respect to our energy and infrastructure investments, optimizing cash flows, reducing operating and capital expenditures, infrastructure projects at our existing properties, growth in domestic electricity demand, preserving liquidity and maintaining financial flexibility, and our future repurchases of units. These risks to our ability to achieve these outcomes include, but are not limited to, the following: decline in the coal industry’s share of electricity generation, including as a result of environmental concerns related to coal mining and combustion, the cost and perceived benefits of other sources of electricity and fuels, such as oil & gas, nuclear energy, and renewable fuels and the retirement of coal-fired power plants in the U.S.; our ability to provide fuel for growth in domestic energy demand, should it materialize; changes in macroeconomic and market conditions and market volatility, and the impact of such changes and volatility on our financial position; changes in global economic and geo-political conditions or changes in industries in which our customers operate; changes in commodity prices, demand and availability which could affect our operating results and cash flows; impacts of geopolitical events, including the conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East; actions of the major oil-producing countries with respect to oil production volumes and prices and the direct and indirect impacts over the near and long term on oil & gas exploration and production operations at the properties in which we hold mineral interests; changes in competition in domestic and international coal markets and our ability to respond to such changes; potential shut-ins of production by the operators of the properties in which we hold oil & gas mineral interests due to low commodity prices or the lack of downstream demand or storage capacity; risks associated with the expansion of and investments into the infrastructure of our operations and properties, including the timing of such investments coming online; our ability to identify and complete acquisitions and to successfully integrate such acquisitions into our business and achieve the anticipated benefits therefrom; our ability to identify and invest in new energy and infrastructure ventures; the success of our development and growth plans for our wholly owned subsidiary, Matrix Design Group, LLC, and our investments in emerging and other infrastructure and technology companies; dependence on significant customer contracts, and failure of customers to renew existing contracts upon expiration; adjustments made in price, volume, or terms to existing coal supply agreements; the effects of and changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, and the results of central bank policy actions including interest rates, bank failures, and associated liquidity risks; the effects of and changes in taxes or tariffs and other trade measures adopted or threatened by the United States and foreign governments, including the imposition of or increase in tariffs on steel and/or other raw materials; legislation, regulations, and court decisions and interpretations thereof, both domestic and foreign, including those relating to the environment and the release of greenhouse gases, such as state legislation seeking to impose liability on a wide range of energy companies under greenhouse gas “superfund” laws, mining, miner health and safety, hydraulic fracturing, and health care; deregulation of the electric utility industry or the effects of any adverse change in the coal industry, electric utility industry, or general economic conditions; investors’ and other stakeholders’ attention to sustainability matters; liquidity constraints, including those resulting from any future unavailability of financing; customer bankruptcies, cancellations or breaches to existing contracts, or other failures to perform; customer delays, failure to take coal under contracts or defaults in making payments; our productivity levels and margins earned on our coal sales; disruptions to oil & gas exploration and production operations at the properties in which we hold mineral interests; changes in equipment, raw material, service or labor costs or availability, including due to inflationary pressures or tariffs; changes in our ability to recruit, hire and maintain labor; our ability to maintain satisfactory relations with our employees; increases in labor costs, including increases in the costs of health insurance, adverse changes in work rules, or cash payments or projections associated with workers’ compensation claims; increases in transportation costs and risk of transportation delays or interruptions; operational interruptions due to geologic, permitting, labor, weather, supply chain shortage of equipment or mine supplies, or other factors; risks associated with major mine-related accidents, mine fires, mine floods or other interruptions; results of litigation, including claims not yet asserted; foreign currency fluctuations that could adversely affect the competitiveness of our coal abroad; difficulty maintaining our surety bonds for mine reclamation as well as workers’ compensation and black lung benefits; difficulty in making accurate assumptions and projections regarding post-mine reclamation as well as pension, black lung benefits, and other post-retirement benefit liabilities; uncertainties in estimating and replacing our coal mineral reserves and resources; uncertainties in estimating and replacing our oil & gas reserves; uncertainties in the amount of oil & gas production due to the level of drilling and completion activity by the operators of our oil & gas properties; the impact of current and potential changes to federal or state tax rules and regulations, including a loss or reduction of benefits from certain tax deductions and credits; difficulty obtaining commercial property insurance, and risks associated with our participation in the commercial insurance property program; evolving cybersecurity risks, such as those involving unauthorized access, denial-of-service attacks, malicious software, data privacy breaches by employees, insiders or others with authorized access, cyber or phishing attacks, ransomware, malware, social engineering, physical breaches, or other actions; and difficulty in making accurate assumptions and projections regarding future revenues and costs associated with equity investments in companies we do not control.

Additional information concerning these, and other factors can be found in ARLP’s public periodic filings with the SEC, including ARLP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed on February 26, 2026, and ARLP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, filed on May 8, 2026. Except as required by applicable securities laws, ARLP does not intend to update its forward-looking statements.

Contacts

Investor Relations Contact
Cary P. Marshall
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
918-295-7673
[email protected]