Universal Stainless Shares Leap on First-Quarter Guidance

Shares of specialty steel maker Universal Stainless & Alloy Products propelled upward as the company offered first-quarter guidance sharply above its results for the first quarter of 2006.

Universal Stainless , which also reported its fourth-quarter results on Thursday, said it expects to post a first-quarter profit of 82 cents to 87 cents a share on sales of $52 million to $57 million.

In the first quarter of 2006, the company posted a profit of 59 cents a share on sales of $44.9 million.