Today's Top Small-Cap Winners!

Heading into the close of trading on Thursday, a number of small-cap stocks are posting very impressive gains. These stocks, all with market caps between $50 million and $300 million, are all up more than 15% on the day. Below, Benzinga highlights the activity in these big winners.

- This small-cap name jumped more than 35% at the open after National Oilwell Varco

agreed to acquire the company for $12.75 per share or $231 million.

- This financial stock is trading up nearly 20% to $5.98. It is unclear what is driving the move in the name, but CRFN is extremely thinly traded, and just one buyer could account for the gain in the stock.

- Shares have added a little more than 14% to $0.51 on the session. The company is currently in bankruptcy, and a report that a dissident group of junior creditors has agreed to drop their opposition to the power company's restructuring proposal has caused the move in the stock.

- Shares were briefly halted on Thursday, after the company announced that it had completed its previously disclosed acquisition of the additional 23.43% stake in the Alba field in the U.K. North Sea from ConocoPhillips (COP). Due to a number of issues, this acquisition had seemed improbable earlier this month, driving the stock down sharply. Today's announcement has put the previous fears about the viability of the deal to rest, and sent the stock up 70% to $10.00 heading into the close. A high short interest (18%) also helped propel the sharp spike in END shares as short-sellers covered their bearish bets when the news was announced.

- This stock gapped up at the open on news that the company was being acquired by United Financial

in a $91 million deal. Heading into the close, NEBS shares were trading up around 30% to $12.70. Under the definitive merger agreement terms, at the effective time of the merger, each share of New England Bancshares common stock will be converted into the right to receive 0.9575 of a share of United Financial Bancorp common stock.

- A bullish analyst note from Jefferies sent shares of SNTA up 15.63% to $4.81 on Thursday. The firm believes Phase 2b lung cancer trial data expected in June could lead to significant upside in the stock.

- This stock skyrocketed on Thursday after the company and Sycamore Partners said that they had reached a buyout deal for $2.75 per share. Just last Friday, TLB had said that the negotiations with the private equity firm had fallen apart with no agreement reached. This news sent TLB shares plunging to a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The surprise announcement that a deal was back on sent TLB up 89% to $2.44 by the close on Thursday.