Novell, Jackson Hewitt: Early Volume Plays

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Novell (NOVL) was one of several stocks trading near $5 poised to move on above-average volume Friday.

Novell said late Thursday that it had a second-quarter adjusted profit of 7 cents a share on revenue of $204 million, in line with analysts' estimates.

Novell offered weaker-than-expected revenue guidance for the third quarter, saying it expects to see revenue in a range of $205 million to $210 million. Analysts expect third-quarter revenue of $210.1 million.

Still, Novell shares rose by 10 cents, or 1.7%, to $6 in the premarket session. The 50-day average daily share volume for Novell is 5.06 million, according to the Nasdaq.

Magma Design Automation (LAVA) jumped by 21 cents, or 6.8%, to $3.28 in the premarket session after the company posted a fourth-quarter profit of 6 cents a share on revenue of $33.6 million, above the Thomson Reuters average estimate for earnings of 4 cents a share on revenue of $32.9 million. The 50-day average daily volume for Magma Design is 548,000.

Ditech Networks (DITC) added 2% to $1.53 in Thursday's after-market session after the telecom equipment maker said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed to 7 cents a share from 33 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue climbed 43% from a year earlier to $7.3 million. The 50-day average daily volume for Ditech Networks is 79,000.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Services (JTX) jumped by 8 cents, or 5%, to $1.69 in the premarket session after the company said 2010 prepared tax returns declined by 14.4% to 2.53 million, which was below Jackson Hewitt's previous estimate of a decline of 17% to 19%. The three-month average daily volume for Jackson Hewitt is 1.53 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Luby's (LUB) was also poised to trade higher Friday after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ruled that Credit Suisse (CS) must buy back auction rate securities that the holding company had purchased through the Swiss bank. Luby's most recent quarterly filing showed that the securities it held had a $7.1 million par value. Credit Suisse was also ordered to pay 6% per annum interest on the securities. The three-month average daily volume for Luby's is 84,000.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

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