Wednesday's Tech Winners & Losers

Tech Data (TECD) rose 6.6% to $37.56 after the distributor of information technology products beat Wall Street's second-quarter estimates and offered an upside forecast for the current quarter.

Net sales for the second quarter ended July 31 were $5.6 billion, an increase of 13.6% from $4.9 billion in the prior-year period. The Clearwater, Fla., company earned $7.2 million, or 13 cents a share, for the quarter, compared with a loss of $155.5 million and $2.81 a share for the prior-year period.

Excluding items, Tech Data would have earned 50 cents in the latest quarter, 20 cents ahead of estimates. Revenue was also stronger than the $5.3 billion consensus target.

For the third quarter, the company anticipates net sales of $5.75 billion to $5.90 billion, topping the $5.67 billion expectation.

Blue Coat Systems (BCSI), a maker of Web and application security appliances, surged 25.6% to $75.16 after a strong quarter and optimistic forecast.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., had fiscal first-quarter revenue of $62.4 million, an increase of 71% from a year ago and ahead of the $58.8 million estimate. Blue Coat earned $2.6 million, or 14 cents a share, reversing last year's loss of $3.1 million and 22 cents a share.

Before items, the company would have earned 43 cents, 8 cents better than expected. For the current quarter, Blue Coat anticipates revenue of $67 million to $70 million and adjusted earnings of 43 cents to 50 cents a share. Analysts expect revenue of $61.5 million and a profit of 37 cents.

BigBand Networks (BBND), a Redwood City, Calif., seller of video-networking platforms, jumped 12.2% to $10.18 after saying Cox Communications will use its products in multiple cable systems.

Cox, the third-largest U.S. cable operator, will use BigBand's offerings to significantly expand its HDTV lineups in markets across the country.