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After Hours: Post-market trading
Sun slides after CFO lowers targets
By Nicole Maestri, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 5:26 PM ET Feb 22, 2001 NewsWatch
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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Coming off a halt, shares of Sun Microsystems slid 9 percent as the company's top management gave its midquarter update in Thursday's after-hours session.
In its conference call, Sun's CFO lowered its third-quarter earnings per share estimates.
Tech shares quickly slid into the red as the call continued.
Separately, shares of BEA Systems and VerticalNet sank after the two companies reported quarterly numbers in Thursday's after-hours session. BEA Systems said the company will raise earnings estimate in its conference call scheduled to take place shortly.
Egghead.com was a lone bright spot in the session, gaining 41 percent after the company posted a smaller-than-expected loss.
In the broader markets, the Nasdaq ended with a modest loss after a short-lived attempt to climb into the plus column. The Dow Industrials clawed into positive terrain, ending right at the flatline.
At its nadir Thursday, the Nasdaq plunged to levels not seen since December 1998 as all tech sectors, except networking and hardware, traded in the red. The broad market saw feeble gains in the gold, oil, utility, brokerage and paper sectors while natural gas, biotech, consumer, retail and drug issues fumbled. Read Market Snapshot.
Sun Microsystems
In its midquarter conference call. Sun's (SUNW: news, msgs) CFO said the economic downturn in the United States is hitting IT spending.
He went on to say the company sees its third quarter revenue up 10 percent to 13 percent on a year-over-year basis, with earnings per share of 7 cents to 9 cents.
The computer company is currently expected to earn 15 cents per share, according to the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call.
On Island, shares quickly slid 9.6 percent to a new 52-week low of $18.81. Sun shares closed up 6.1 percent to $20.81 in the regular session.
BEA Systems
BEA Systems (BEAS: news, msgs) reported pro forma fourth-quarter net income of $43.8 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with $17.2 million, or 5 cents a share, during the same quarter last year.
Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial expected earnings of 9 cents a share and revenue of $251.8 million.
Actual revenue was $256 million compared with $149.2 million during the same quarter last year.
Kevin Faulkner, BEA's vice president of investor relations, told CBS.MarketWatch.com that the software company was not affected by the slowing economy in the fourth quarter.
Also, Faulkner said BEA will raise its financial expectations for the coming year on an investor conference call.
On Island shares slid 14 percent to $36 after jittery investors sent shares down 8.3 percent to $42 in the regular session.
VerticalNet
VerticalNet posted a fourth-quarter cash loss of $28.5 million, or 32 cents a share, excluding the results of Vertical Net's exchanges segment. Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial projected a loss of 19 cents a share.
Quarterly sales climbed 18 percent sequentially to $40.7 million. The business-to-business e-commerce enabler forecasts a FY 2001 loss between 60 to 70 cents and revenue in the range of $220 million to $230 million. VerticalNet shares closed up 22 cents, or 6.6 percent, at $3.53 ahead of the news.
After posting a wider-than-expected loss, VerticalNet updated its earnings forecast, saying it expects a cash loss in the range of $60 million to $70 million, or a loss of 6 cents to 7 cents per share. For the full year, the company expects revenue to be in the range of $220 to $230 million
VerticalNet expects positive cash earnings in the fourth quarter of 2001.
Shares of VerticalNet, which closed up 6.6 percent to $3.53, slid in 21 percent after-hours trading to $2.78.
Egghead.com
Egghead.com (EGGS: news, msgs) reported a fourth-quarter loss that was narrower than expected by the one analyst covering the company according to First Call/Thomson Financial.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $9.6 million, or 23 cents per share, on revenue of $91.6 million. That compared with a net loss of $90.4 million, or $2.44 per share, on revenue of $153.2 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
The analyst polled by First Call had forecast a loss of 39 cents per share.
Egghead.com said it expects to report sales of $85 million to $90 million in the first quarter, and $450 million to $500 million for its fiscal year 2001 and reiterated its previous target of reaching profitability in the fourth quarter of 2001.
Egghead shares finished Nasdaq trading down 7.1 percent to 81 cents but bounded up 41 percent to $1.15 in Island trading. |
