Friday's Early Winners & Losers

Boston Communications Group (BCGI Quote) plummeted more than 20% in after-hours trading Thursday as the Bedford, Mass., small-cap found several unfavorable accounting errors while conducting its internal stock-compensation review. The company said that recorded stock-option costs should increase by $10 million to $13 million.

In addition, labor expenses since 1998 were recorded as only $11.3 million, but actually should add up to $32.4 million, the financial effect of which has yet to be fully assessed. The company also "improperly recorded" $967,000 in sales for the second fiscal quarter of 2006.

Due to some changes at its largest customer Sprint (S Quote), Boston Communications expects to lose $45 million to $55 million in annual sales after about mid-2007. Its shares were down 47 cents to $1.85.

Credence Systems (CMOS Quote) fell after the Milpitas, Calif., maker of semiconductor test systems said sales sank 6.6% from last year to $118.8 million in the first fiscal quarter, barely missing estimates. Losses narrowed to a break-even figure of $11,000 from last year's $4 million, or 4 cents a share. But the company also expects to lose 5 cents to 6 cents a share in the next quarter. The Street is expecting a profit of 4 cents a share. Shares were losing 35 cents, or 7.6%, to $4.25.

Semiconductor company OmniVision Technologies (OVTI Quote) came in a penny above estimates for the third fiscal quarter, but its income (excluding items) of 20 cents per share was less than half of last year's income. Revenue edged down to $134.4 million from $137.7 million a year ago, which falls below the $138.7 million projections. Shares were off 67 cents, or 5.1%, to $12.38.