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| Friday, June 16, 2006 |
Microsoft Corp. shares held their ground in aftermarket trading after founder Bill Gates announced he will give up his day-to-day role at the company in 2008, while several technology stocks reversed regular session gains on weak earnings and stock options probes.
Shares of Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft fell fractionally, by 11 cents, to $21.96 on the INET electronic exchange, after closing up 19 cents at $22.07 on the Nasdaq. Chairman Bill Gates announced after the bell he will transition from his daily responsibilities at the company, eventually working for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation full-time by July 2008.
Semiconductor maker Linear Technology Corp. and biotech Medarex Corp. became the latest companies to be caught up in the Securities and Exchange Commission's stock option backdating inquiry Thursday.
Linear Technology stock dropped 38 cents to $34.40 on the INET. Shares finished the regular session up 66 cents to $34.78 on the Nasdaq.
The Milpitas, Calif., company said it would comply with the SEC's request for information on the company's practices, made as part of an informal inquiry. On May 24, the company said two stockholder derivative lawsuits were filed against the company's board of directors, alleging improper backdating.
Similarly, shares of Medarex Corp. dropped 21 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $9.60 on INET after closing up 5.6 percent at $9.81. The Princeton, N.J., company said it received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office, asking for information on its stock option grants and practices. The company has two shareholder lawsuits filed against it in regard to stock option backdating and the U.S. Attorney's Office, along with the SEC, are looking into several companies practices on the issue.
Shares of California Micro Devices Corp. plummeted in aftermarket trading after the company lowered its first quarter expectations. The stock lost 76 cents, or 13 percent, to $5.10 on INET, after closing up 6 cents at $5.86 on the Nasdaq.
The semiconductor maker said it expects a net loss of 12 cents to 13 cents a share, wider than its prior loss forecast of 9 cents to 11 cents. The drop is due to a large decline in demand over the last month, the company said.
Software maker Adobe Systems Inc. posted a lower profit for the second quarter, driving its stock down in the extended session after a day of modest gains. Shares fell 97 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $27.99 on INET after gaining 39 cents to hit $28.96 on the Nasdaq.
The San Jose, Calif., company said profit for the period fell 18 percent from a year ago. The results were due to costs related to the company's acquisition of Macromedia in December. Adobe paid $3.4 billion for the company, and though it boosted revenue for the quarter, the costs still took a large chunk out of the company's profit.
Meanwhile, software maker Oracle Corp. extended its daytime gains on a positive outlook for its fourth-quarter earnings. Shares rose 85 cents, or 6.2 percent, to $14.55 on INET after gaining 3.9 percent to close at $13.70 on the Nasdaq.
The Redwood City, Calif., company said it expects earnings to come in at 24 cents a share, up from previous estimates of between 21 cents and 23 cents. It cited strong gains in new software revenue as the catalyst. |
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