Thursday's Tech Winners & Losers

Shares of Cree(CREE) were among technology's losers Thursday, tumbling 12% after the maker of light-emitting diodes lowered its second-quarter forecast.

For the quarter ending Dec. 24, the company now sees earnings of 12 cents to 14 cents a share, including a gain of nine cents a share from the sale of securities. The company projects revenue of $90 million to $92 million. Previously, Cree forecast earnings of 14 cents to 17 cents a share, excluding the amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, on revenue of $105 million to $109 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call project earnings of 16 cents a share and revenue of $107.2 million.

Cree blamed the revenue shortfall on lower-than-expected orders for LED chip products. "The LED chip market remains challenging, particularly for our mid-brightness products in mobile applications," the company said. Shares were trading down $2.43 to $18.68.

WJ Communications(WJCI) tumbled 19% after the maker of radio-frequency semiconductor products cut its fourth-quarter revenue forecast. The company now sees revenue of $10.8 million to $11.3 million, down from a prior projection of $12 million to $12.5 million. Analysts, on average, expect revenue of $12.4 million. For all of 2006, the company anticipates revenue of $48.3 million to $48.8 million, below its previous guidance of $49.5 million to $50 million. Wall Street projects revenue of $49.9 million.

"We are experiencing a slowdown in sales through our distribution channel beyond the anticipated softening in the Korean repeater business that we discussed during the third quarter's conference call and lower than expected results in the RFID market due to the ongoing unpredictability of its growth trends," the company said. Shares were trading down 34 cents to $1.40.