Tech Stocks in Motion

Tibco Software (TIBX) was among technology's winners Thursday, with shares rising 8% after the company's fourth-quarter results and first-quarter revenue guidance surpassed Wall Street expectations.

For the fourth quarter ended Nov. 30, the maker of integration software earned $26.6 million, or 12 cents a share, up from $18.2 million, or 8 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, the company earned $21.8 million, or 10 cents a share, topping Thomson First Call's mean analyst estimate of 6 cents. Tibco's revenue increased to $134.4 million from $125.7 million last year, with license revenue totaling $66.8 million. Analysts predicted revenue of $115.7 million.

Tibco projected first-quarter earnings of 5 cents a share, before items, with revenue of $109 million to $111 million. Analysts had forecast earnings of 5 cents a share and revenue of $108.2 million. The company's shares were trading up 57 cents to $7.87.

Paychex(PAYX) slid after an analyst downgraded it despite better-than-expected earnings. The shares were recently down $2.02, or 4.8%, to $39.86 on more than twice the normal daily trading volume. Wednesday night, the human resources outsourcer said second-quarter earnings rose 30% from last year to $112.6 million, or 30 cents a share. Analysts were forecasting earnings of 29 cents a share. On Thursday, the stock was downgraded to the equivalent of neutral by a CIBC analyst who said recent appreciation has left it fairly priced.

Shares of Marvell Technology(MRVL) rose moderately after the company agreed to buy the semiconductor division of UTStarcom(UTSI) for $24 million plus possible incentive payments. The business is primarily focused on developing wireless communications chips, including 3G application technologies and products for personal "handyphone" systems. Marvell shares were trading up 73 cents to $56.15, while UTStarcom rose 6 cents to $8.22.

Comsys IT Partners(CITP) was hammered after the company priced a 3 million-share follow-on offering Tuesday. The company, which sells staffing services to information technology firms, sold the deal at $11 a share, well below the shares' closing price Wednesday of $14.68. Comsys will use proceeds to redeem a series of preferred stock and for general purposes. Recently, the shares were trading at $11.51, down $3.17, or 21.6%.