Opteum Has Huge 1Q Loss, Stock Hammered

Opteum Inc., Vero Beach, Fla., posted a $78.1 million loss in the first quarter, blaming its problems on its residential mortgage business and "significant distress" in the secondary market. A publicly-traded real estate investment trust, Opteum's shares were hammered in trading the morning of May 11, falling by 23% to just over $4 a share. Its 52-week high is $9.24. The company recently announced that it would exit the residential funding business entirely, selling its retail network and shutting its wholesale/correspondent channel. In 2006 Opteum Financial Services, the residential arm of Opteum, funded $6.3 billion in loans, ranking 49th in the U.S., according to figures compiled by the Quarterly Data Report. (The ranking excludes subprime specialists.)