Wednesday's Late Winners & Losers

Stocks generally continued their downward track after the market closed Wednesday, despite yet another big rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

Likewise ignored were Amazon.com's (AMZN Quote) more-than-doubled fourth-quarter earnings of $207 million, or 48 cents a share, which were in line with Thomson Financial's analyst estimates. The online retailer's revenue ballooned 42.3% year over year to a better-than-expected $5.67 billion, and both current-quarter and full-year outlooks were set above the current consensus.

Still, shares were recently falling $8.46, or 11.4%, to $65.75.

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS Quote), which makes design-automation software and hardware, guided far below Wall Street views with projected first-quarter non-GAAP income of 3 cents to 5 cents a share, and a top line of $280 million to $290 million. Analysts are seeking 30 cents a share on revenue of $393.2 million for the quarter, and Cadence's full-year results should also fall significantly short of targets. On the brighter side, fourth-quarter earnings were flush with estimates. But investors still pulled shares down $3.41, or 22.5%, to $11.75.

Elsewhere in tech, shares of Novellus Systems (NVLS Quote) lost 3.6% to $22.56 despite the fact the Californian semiconductor-equipment maker booked a fourth-quarter pro forma profit of 37 cents a share that topped targets by a penny. And BladeLogic (BLOG Quote) was in line for the fiscal first quarter but also predicted below-par earnings in the current quarter. Shares of the Lexington, Mass., software company were off 19% to $14.37 in light extended trading.

Starbucks (SBUX Quote) was also among the postclose losers. The Seattle-based coffee giant achieved a penny EPS beat for the fourth quarter, earning $208.1 million, or 28 cents a share, but came in just under the Street's sales estimates despite a 17.5% leap to $2.77 billion. The company also said same-store sales gained just 1% year over year, pressured by U.S. comps that slipped 1%. Shares were dropping 2.8% to $18.68 after hours.

Even worse off was Accuray (ARAY Quote), shares of which plummeted nearly 30% after the Sunnyvale, Calif., company made only 4 cents a share in the fiscal second quarter -- less than half of what the Street was expecting. That reverses a huge year-ago EPS loss of 45 cents, but shares of the maker of robotic surgery systems were still recently diving $4.28 to $10.70.

By contrast, Evergreen Solar (ESLR Quote) added 2.8% after the Marlboro, Mass., solar-power company said it signed a second agreement to secure polysilicon shipments from Korea-based DC Chemical from early 2009 through 2015. Evergreen says this will allow for "further expansion" of its Devens, Mass., facility this spring, which should put the plant on track for an annual manufacturing capacity of about 160 megawatts worth of solar-cell components called crystalline silicon wafers by early 2010.

The first polysilicon supply contract with DC, announced last April, covered shipments starting from late 2008 through 2014. It also had DC picking up 3 million Evergreen shares and 10.75 million newly minted restricted shares, the restrictions on the latter of which will lapse on delivery of 500 tons of polysilicon to Evergreen. Shares of Evergreen were rising 34 cents to $12.32 in recent after-hours trading.

Elsewhere, Alliance Data Systems' (ADS Quote) cash earnings surged by roughly one-third year over year to an in-line 93 cents a share, and its climbing revenue was slightly ahead at $602.7 million.

Shares of the Dallas transaction processor had taken a dive Monday on word its takeout by Blackstone (BX Quote) would probably crumble due to regulatory difficulties. Recently, however, Alliance shares were taking back 3.8% to $44.30 in a modicum of recovery.

And Concur Technologies (CNQR Quote) shares surged 12.8% after the Redmond, Wash., company more than tripled its earnings from a year ago to $3.4 million, or 7 cents a share. Excluding items, the results handily beat Wall Street expectations. Shares were changing hands at $31.88 in recent after-hours trading.