Thursday's Late Winners & Losers

Alcoa(AA Quote) was one of the heaviest traded stocks in the after-hours market, as the aluminum producer got a minor bump after withdrawing its hostile bid for aluminum rival Alcan(AL Quote).

Alcoa earlier this spring made a $27 billion offer for Alcan, but mining concern Rio Tinto(RTP Quote) on Thursday formally made a friendly, $38 billion offer. "Rio's offer for Alcan strongly reinforces our view of the underlying value in the aluminum industry and its bright prospects for the future," Alcoa said in a statement issued late in the day. "However, at this price level, we have more attractive options for delivering additional value to shareholders." Alcoa shares were climbing $1.06, or 2.3%, to $46.35.

Electro Scientific Industries(ESIO Quote) was gaining 3.9% in late trading after posting a surge in quarterly sales after the bell. In its fourth quarter ended June 2, the maker of lasers for semiconductors and other electronic components reported $71.7 million in sales, compared to $57.9 million in the year-ago period. The company earned $7.9 million, or 29 cents a share, compared to $5.9 million, or 20 cents a share in the comparable 2006 quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 25 cents a share on sales of $66.9 million. Shares were trading up 91 cents to $24.30.

Paychex(PAYX Quote) was gaining 3.8% in late trading after it said it planned to buy back $1 billion of its stock and increased its regular quarterly dividend 43%, to 30 cents per share. The payroll company's stock gained $1.56 in late trading to $43.

Nextest Systems(NEXT Quote) sunk 14% after the semiconductor equipment manufacturer lowered its fourth-quarter guidance. The company said preliminary revenue projections for the quarter ended June 30 were somewhere in the range of $13 million to $14 million, below the $20 million to $24 million it had previously expected. The lower revenue, which the company attributes to sluggish orders for its equipment in the NAND flash semiconductor market, is expected to result in a net loss of between $1 million and $1.6 million, or between 5 cents and 8 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 11 cents a share on revenue of $23.2 million. Shares were retreating $1.90 to $11.40.

Macrovision(MVSN Quote) was shedding 8.6% due to a lowered second-quarter outlook. The software developer expects revenue of between $57 million and $59 million, instead of the $65 million to $68 million it had forecast earlier. The company had $58.3 million in revenue in the year-ago period. Macrovision now expects earnings of between 19 cents and 22 cents a share, from earlier projections of 24 cents to 27 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 27 cents a share on revenue of $67.2 million. Shares were down $2.56 to $27.22.