Tech Stock News And Analysis

Tech Stock News and Analysis

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Shares of Atmel (ATML) were among technology's losers Tuesday, dropping 14% after the chipmaker postponed the release of its second-quarter results amid a review into its past stock-option grants.

Atmel said it won't release its second-quarter results until the independent investigation of its option practices and timing has been completed. The company, which planned to release earnings Tuesday, said it doesn't expect to complete the option investigation by the Aug. 14 extended due date for quarterly report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares were trading down 69 cents to $4.13.

Shares of Agere Systems (AGR) jumped 23% after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. For the period ended June 30, the company earned $47 million, or 27 cents a share, on revenue of $382 million. Excluding items, Agere earned $37 million, or 22 cents a share. Analysts anticipated earnings of 16 cents a share on revenue of $399.9 million. A year earlier, the company posted adjusted earnings of $43 million, or 23 cents a share, on revenue of $433 million.

Looking ahead, Agere sees fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 21 cents to 26 cents a share, with revenue of $375 million to $400 million. Analysts project earnings of 21 cents a share on revenue of $405.6 million. Shares were up $2.75 to $14.75.

Zoran (ZRAN) tumbled 30% after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected second-quarter revenue, but warned that third-quarter revenue would be below forecasts. The company reported revenue of $127.9 million, which included $5.6 million from a legal settlement. Without the settlement, the company would have posted revenue of $122.3 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected a top line of $119.8 million. During the year-earlier period, the company posted revenue, excluding a legal settlement, of $95.1 million.

For the third quarter, Zoran sees revenue of $130 million to $134 million, compared with analysts' forecast of $138.3 million. Zoran said it plans to post its full second-quarter earnings results after it completes a previously announced review of its historical stock-option practices. Shares were trading down $5.92 to $13.81.

Vicor (VICR) shares sank 27% after the maker of modular power components posted lower-than-expected second-quarter results. The company earned $2.9 million, or 7 cents a share, on revenue of $49.2 million. Analysts expected earnings of 9 cents a share and revenue of $50.9 million. During the year-earlier period, Vicor earned $89,000, or less than a penny a share, on revenue of $44.6 million.

"Demand slowed in Q2. Several significant orders due to be booked in Q2 were delayed and the base-level business, consisting of smaller accounts and orders, also suffered from lackluster performance," the company said. "This caused a disappointing book-to-bill ratio and shipment levels that were short of our expectations." Vicor shares recently were trading at $11.07, down $4.06.

Shares of Orckit Communications (ORCT) tumbled 17% after the telecom-equipment maker posted solid second-quarter results, but slashed its full-year projections. For the second quarter, the company earned $294,000, or 2 cents a share, besting analysts' estimate for a loss of 3 cents a share. The company posted revenue of $14.7 million, compared with Wall Street's target of $13 million. During the year-earlier quarter, the company earned $3.9 million, or 21 cents a share, on revenue of $21.8 million.

For the full year, Orckit now sees earnings of 17 cents to 35 cents a share on revenue of $62 million to $68 million. In late April, the company projected earnings of 68 cents to $1.20 a share, with revenue of $80 million to $100 million. Analysts had forecast earnings of 48 cents a share and revenue of $73 million. Orckit blamed the shortfall on lower demand for its products in Japan. Shares were trading down $1.43 to $7.07.

Other technology movers included ATI Technologies (ATYT) , up 10 cents to $19.77; Level 3 Communications (LVLT) , down 36 cents to $4; Microsoft (MSFT) , unchanged at $24; Intel (INTC) , down 6 cents to $17.42; Sun Microsystems (SUNW) , up 1 cent to $4.03; SanDisk (SNDK) , up $5.75 to $45.95; Dell (DELL) , down 4 cents to $20.71; Oracle (ORCL) , down 7 cents to $14.91; Cisco Systems (CSCO) , down 13 cents to $17.82; Yahoo! (YHOO) , down 18 cents to $26.76; Apple Computer (AAPL) , down 52 cents to $60.90; Motorola (MOT) , up 29 cents to $21.41; and Lucent Technologies (LU) , down 4 cents to $2.06.

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