The Night Watch
The Night Watch: Agile, Ariba Take a Dive After Calling Merger Off
Yi Ping Ho
04/02/01 - 07:33 PM EDT
(Updated from 7:20 p.m. ET) The bell may have rung, but ugly Monday isn't over. Indeed, stocks, which tumbled in the daytime session, were doing some further falling in extended-hours trading as companies continued their stream of unpleasant earnings confessions. Tonight's danger zone lay in the software sector. Agile Software (AGIL Quote - Cramer on AGIL - Stock Picks) was plummeting on both Island ECN and Instinet after business-to-business software company Ariba (ARBA Quote - Cramer on ARBA - Stock Picks) said it was scrapping its planned acquisition of the San Jose, Calif., company. The stock recently gave up 10.3% to $9.44 on Instinet, and 11.1% to $9.35 on Island. Volume was heavy on both platforms. In a prepared statement, the companies cited the "challenging economic and market conditions," and said they have mutually agreed to terminate their proposed merger agreement without payment of any termination fees. "We are disappointed that adverse economic and market conditions prevent the merger with Agile from proceeding as planned," Ariba said.
Investors also sent Ariba's beaten-down stock tumbling 15.4% to $5.50 on Island, down from its new 52-week low of $6 today. And no wonder. The company also
warned tonight of a second-quarter earnings shortfall and disclosed plans to cut about 700 employees, or one-third of its workforce. Ariba's warning recalls a string of announcements from software firms. This morning, i2 Technologies (ITWO Quote - Cramer on ITWO - Stock Picks)
lowered its first-quarter outlook and speculated on the possibility of layoffs. Its shares closed up at $15.44 during the day's regular session on the Nasdaq 
. But in after-hours action, it lost 3.5% to $14.90 on Island. Rivals Commerce One (CMRC Quote - Cramer on CMRC - Stock Picks) and Art Technology (ARTG Quote - Cramer on ARTG - Stock Picks) were faring no better. On Island, shares of Commerce One were down 8.3% to $7.20, while Art Technology slid 3.8% to $5.74. Art Technology, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., had its own
first-quarter confession earlier in the day that sent the shares free falling to a new 52-week low of $5.94 on Nasdaq. With eerie echoes, Broadvision (BVSN Quote - Cramer on BVSN - Stock Picks), an e-commerce software firm, sharply lowered its first-quarter guidance tonight, citing the slowing economy and reduced information technology spending. And the company set plans to terminate about 325 workers, or 15% of its workforce. Investors on Island lately sold off on the shares, sending them down 16.7% to $3.75. And just when you're wondering if it'll ever end, Inktomi (INKT Quote - Cramer on INKT - Stock Picks)
issued a second-quarter warnings after today's close, and said it would -- yes, you guessed it -- hand out those pink slips. And the shares plummeted by 26.1% to $4.60 on Island. Also, online security software company Entrust Technologies (ENTU Quote - Cramer on ENTU - Stock Picks) took a beating in a knee-jerk response to its first-quarter earnings warning, which also came after the bell. The shares were off 27.9% to $5.25. With bad news like this, most tech bellwethers were mired in the red. Software giants Cisco Systems (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks), Juniper Networks (JNPR Quote - Cramer on JNPR - Stock Picks) and Oracle (ORCL Quote - Cramer on ORCL - Stock Picks) were off their closing prices on both extended-hours trading platforms. Juniper fared especially poorly, losing 4.2% to $34.32 on Instinet. But the software companies are not alone. Redback Networks (RBAK Quote - Cramer on RBAK - Stock Picks), one of the latest casualties in the beleaguered telecom sector, said this evening that it expects to sharply miss first-quarter earnings. The company, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., also announced job cuts of about 150 workers, or 12% of its workforce. The shares fell 13.2% to $10.15 on Instinet. And copier giant Xerox (XRX Quote - Cramer on XRX - Stock Picks) recently slid 8.3% to $5.50 on Instinet after the company delayed its annual 10-K filing with regulators in order to review its books. Bucking the trend, however, was another telecom equipment company, New Focus (NUFO Quote - Cramer on NUFO - Stock Picks), which climbed 7.9% to $12.40 on Instinet after the company reaffirmed its first-quarter revenue outlook of $38 million to $41 million.
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| 10 most active stocks on Instinet (6:30 p.m. EST) | |||
| Company | Price | Change | Session Volume |
| Agile Software (AGIL Quote - Cramer on AGIL - Stock Picks) | 9.30 | -1.22 | 1,994,100 |
| Cisco Systems (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks) | 15.00 | -0.06 | 269,164 |
| i2 Technologies (ITWO Quote - Cramer on ITWO - Stock Picks) | 15.00 | -0.44 | 195,500 |
| Nasdaq 100 ( QQQ Quote - Cramer on QQQ - Stock Picks) | 37.51 | -0.11 | 171,750 |
| Litton Industries ( LIT Quote - Cramer on LIT - Stock Picks) | 80.07 | +0.06 | 171,200 |
| Dell Computer ( DELL Quote - Cramer on DELL - Stock Picks) | 23.94 | -0.13 | 134,439 |
| Intel ( INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks) | 25.50 | -0.30 | 128,215 |
| Commerce One (CMRC Quote - Cramer on CMRC - Stock Picks) | 7.00 | -0.85 | 125,057 |
| New Focus (NUFO Quote - Cramer on NUFO - Stock Picks) | 12.40 | +0.91 | 119,500 |
| Redback Networks (RBAK Quote - Cramer on RBAK - Stock Picks) | 10.15 | -1.55 | 111,026 |
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| 10 most active stocks on Island ECN (8:00 p.m. EDT) | |||
| Company | Price | Change | Session Volume |
| Ariba (ARBA Quote - Cramer on ARBA - Stock Picks) | 5.50 | -1.00 | 1,285,716 |
| Agile Software (AGIL Quote - Cramer on AGIL - Stock Picks) | 9.35 | -1.17 | 245,077 |
| Nasdaq100 (QQQ Quote - Cramer on QQQ - Stock Picks) | 37.45 | n.a. | 154,254 |
| i2 Technologies (ITWO Quote - Cramer on ITWO - Stock Picks) | 14.90 | -0.54 | 151,546 |
| Commerce One ( CMRC Quote - Cramer on CMRC - Stock Picks) | 7.20 | -0.65 | 149,240 |
| P-Com (PCOM Quote - Cramer on PCOM - Stock Picks) | 0.85 | +0.19 | 127,750 |
| Cisco Systems (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks) | 15.00 | -0.06 | 118,388 |
| Broadvision (BVSN Quote - Cramer on BVSN - Stock Picks) | 3.75 | -0.75 | 111,900 |
| MarchFirst (MRCH Quote - Cramer on MRCH - Stock Picks) | 0.09 | -- | 69,751 |
| JDS Uniphase (JDSU Quote - Cramer on JDSU - Stock Picks) | 16.38 | -0.31 | 69,467 |
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