The Night Watch: After-Hours Action Muted Before Holiday Weekend

It's a Friday ahead of a holiday, so traders were few and volume was thin in after-hours trading on Island and Instinet. Still, some diehards were getting in some action before the three-day weekend.

Just take a look at BroadVision(BVSN), which was keeping its regular-trading session rally going on anticipation that Tuesday the company will announce a new wireless venture. On Island, the stock was lately up $1.44 to $40.50, while on Instinet its gains were a little less, up $1.39 to $40.45. At the closing bell, BroadVision was up $4.56, or 13.2%, to $39.06.

Earlier this week, the company announced that it was entering into an alliance with India-based software services firm Mastek. The venture will build e-business applications.

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Instinet action had Global Crossing(GBLX) as its most active stock, but it was down 6 cents to $35.06 after gaining $5.06 to $35.13 in regular trading hours. The stock got a boost after it increased revenue estimates for the entire year.

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Also on Instinet, the biggest loser was iXL Enterprises(IIXL) which warned that it expected a third-quarter loss and lower revenue for the same quarter. The seven-analyst estimate predicted earnings of 4 cents a share. The company was down $1.64, or about 20%, to $6.73 on 3,300 shares.

On the other end of the spectrum was Covalent(CVGR) which was up $2.03, or 61%, to $5.38. No news here, just light volume (only 500 shares).

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Tonight, Symphonix(SMPX) was a little out of tune. It was lately the object of profit-taking, down $1.60, or 16%, to $8.40 on Island. Instinet traders were a bit kinder, only cutting the stock by $1.06 to $8.44. It ended today's regular session up a whopping $4.34, or 84%, to $9.50.

Yesterday, the stock was the after-hours darling after the Food and Drug Administration approved Symphonix's surgically implanted hearing device for adults with moderate to severe hearing loss. The stock swelled to a melodious $6.75 from its closing price of $5.16.

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Investors were liking the news that BEI Medical Systems(BMED) will feature one of its devices at the 16th FIGO World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

The product, called the Hydro ThermAblator, is a minimally invasive, nonsurgical method for treating excessive uterine bleeding. The stock was lately up 16 cents to $1.91. It ended the regular session up 69 cents, or 65%, to $1.75.

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Yesterday, Wind River(WIND) made an announcement after the closing bell that it beat analysts' estimates. Today, it was still getting some action, albeit not of the positive kind. On Island, the stock was lately sliding 81 cents to $47.44 after gaining $7.50, or 18.4%, to $48.25 in regular trading hours.

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Remember Immersion (IMMR)? We do. Just last night, TSCfeatured the hardware and software manufacturer in this column, because it was the largest gainer on Instinet in extended trading.

In fact, Immersion did gain $12.13, or 70.8%, to $29.25 in the after-hours session, with only 800 shares changing hands on Instinet. Today, the company closed up 2.2% to $17.50 in regular trading. Clearly, someone got duped into paying a hugely inflated price for the stock in nighttime trading. And, apparently, he or she was burned. For the novice after-hours investor, this story serves as a cautionary tale.

In a similar vein, look at On-Point Technology(ONPT), which was getting lots of action lately on no news. Thin volume and a couple of impish traders were pushing the stock up what would be an impressive 50%, but the stock trades under $1. Any kind of action will make it move big. It finished the regular trading session up 3 cents, or 7.7%, to 44 cents.

10 most active stocks on Instinet (6:30 p.m. EDT)
Company	Price	Change	Session Volume
Global Crossing (GBLX)	35.0625	-0.0625	189,205
Wind River (WIND)	47.5	-0.75	171,400
BroadVision (BVSN)	40.453125	+1.390625	130,400
Microsoft (MSFT)	70.375	+0.1875	77,448
Oracle (ORCL)	92.765625	+0.140625	71,681
Qualcomm (QCOM)	59.5	+0.25	67,702
Biomet (BMET)	33.625	+0.25	67,026
Symphonix (SMPX)	8.4375	-1.0625	63,075
Yahoo! (YHOO)	114.73438	+0.79688	52,837
Cisco (CSCO)	68.25	+0.3125	50,188

This information is provided by Instinet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters (RTRSY). For further information, please contact Instinet at www.instinet.com.

10 most active stocks on Island ECN (6:30 p.m. EDT)
Company	Price	Change	Session Volume
BroadVision (BVSN)	40.50	+1.4375	380,700
Symphonix (SMPX)	8.40	-1.60	161,630
On-Point Technology(ONPT)	0.5938	+0.1563	86,075
BEI Medical(BMED)	1.9062	+0.1563	81,327
Wind River (WIND)	47.44	-0.8125	60,795
Ophidian Pharmaceuticals (OPHDW)	0.07	-0.0238	48,233
Global Crossing (GBLX)	35.43	+0.3050	43,115
Viant (VIAN)	8.37	+0.1825	39,774
Centura Software (CNTR)	4.7812	-0.2188	26,595
Ericsson(ERICY)	20.50	-0.50	19,916

Island ECN, owned by Datek Online, offers trading, mainly in Nasdaq-listed stocks, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT.

Confused? TheStreet.com explains how the rules change when the sun goes down in Investing Basics: Night Owl, a section devoted to after-hours trading.