Tech Stocks in Motion

Updated from 1:22 p.m. EST

Shares of Manchester Technologies (MANC Quote) were among technology's losers Monday, falling 35.9% after the company posted year-over-year declines in earnings and sales.

The computer hardware distributor posted earnings of $252,000, or 3 cents a share, on sales of $39.3 million. A year ago the company earned $743,000, or 9 cents a share, on sales of $45.1 million. Manchester said that average selling prices decreased during the quarter. Sales were also hurt by a decrease in computer hardware sales to dealers and systems integrators, the company said. Selling, general, and administrative expenses, meanwhile, jumped 41% during the quarter. Shares traded down $3.31 to $5.90.

Avocent(AVCT Quote) fell 30.3% after the computer parts manufacturer cut its first-quarter sales forecast. The company now expects to post sales of $73 million to $77 million, down substantially from its previous guidance of $96 million to $100 million. During last year's first quarter the company posted sales of $86.1 million. Avocent said that product launches during the quarter kept its sales and reseller forces in training and away from customers during January, which created some confusion in the marketplace, the company said. What's more, an order the company had expected from a large customer was deferred during the quarter. Finally, seasonal softness in the OEM market -- with a substantial portion of it attributable to one customer -- hurt the company's sales results also. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had been expecting Avocent to post sales of $98.9 million. Shares traded down $10.37 to $23.90.

Shares of Ascential Software(ASCL Quote) rose 16.5% after the company agreed to be acquired by IBM(IBM Quote) for about $1.1 billion, or $18.50 a share. The all-cash deal, which is expected to close during the second quarter of 2005, will strengthen IBM's information integration business. The deal represents an 18% premium to Friday's closing price of $15.70. Ascential Software posted 2004 sales of $271.9 million, representing sales growth of 46%. Shares of Ascential traded up $2.59 to $18.29, while shares of IBM traded up 39 cents to $91.90.

SBS Technologies(SBSE Quote) fell 6.7% after the maker of embedded computer products cut its third-quarter sales outlook. The company now expects sales of $36.5 million to $37.5 million, down from previous guidance of $39 million to $40 million. Analysts had been expecting sales of $39.8 million. "The reduction is due to the unexpected decrease in sales from key customers in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry, and weakness of orders in the company's quick-turn, short lead time business," the company said. Much of the order softness was in the company's U.S.-based commercial and government end markets. Shares traded down 82 cents to $11.50.

Shares of Remec(REMC Quote) fell 12.1% after the company announced the sale of selected assets and liabilities in its wireless systems business to Powerwave(PWAV Quote) for a combination of cash and stock. Powerwave agreed to pay $40 million in cash and 10 million shares of Powerwave for the assets -- giving the transaction a total value of about $118 million. As part of the deal, Powerwave will receive Remec's RF conditioning products, filters, tower-mounted amplifiers and RF power amplifiers. The transaction also includes manufacturing facilities in Costa Rica, China and the Philippines. Shares traded down 77 cents to $5.60.

Other technology movers included Microsoft(MSFT Quote), up 2 cents to $25.11; Sun Microsystems(SUNW Quote), down 6 cents to $4.39; Intel (INTC Quote), up 7 cents to $24.27; Sirius Satellite Radio(SIRI Quote), down 3 cents to $5.33; eBay(EBAY Quote), down $1.77 to $36.48; Cisco(CSCO Quote), up 9 cents to $18.54; Lucent (LU Quote), up 1 cent to $2.93; Oracle(ORCL Quote), up 6 cents to $13.15; and Apple Computer(AAPL Quote), up 5 cents to $40.32.