The Night Watch: Intuit Climbs on Earnings; Agilent, Finisar Sink

(Updated from 6:41 p.m. EST)

Large-cap technology stocks, which were down for the count in the regular session, have gotten up off the mat in extended action.

On the heels of a nasty selloff on the Nasdaq Composite Index , stocks that collapsed today, or at least hit 52-week lows, have started to put themselves back together.

Shares of Cisco Systems (CSCO), i2 Technologies (ITWO), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Ericsson (ERICY) and Exodus Communications (EXDS) -- which all traded at their worst levels in12 months today -- have come back slightly this evening.

Intel (INTC), which announced this afternoon that it was cutting discretionary spending and deferring annual performance pay raises, sank 0.2% to $31.38 on Island and was unchanged on Instinet. The stock dropped 8.6% in the regular session.

Moving on to the headlines, companies with earnings news have seen mixed results after-hours: Agilent (A), VA Linux (LNUX) and Finisar (FNSR) are down.

Meanwhile, TMP Worldwide (TMPW) and Intuit (INTU) are up.

Agilent Tops Expectations but Lowers Guidance

Agilent Technologies -- a company that makes technology for the communications, health care, and electronics industries -- announced earnings of 51 cents per share for the second quarter, topping analysts' targets by a penny. Revenue rose to $2.8 billion from $2.2 billion. But the company reduced its growth forecast going forward, saying that it now expects 10% to 15% growth, compared with Wall Street's expectation of 19% growth. Shares of Agilent dropped 17% to $41.50 on Instinet.

VA Linux Misses Estimates and Announces Layoffs

VA Linux -- a software manufacturer -- announced a loss of 28 cents per share for the second quarter, wider than analysts' target of a 26-cent-per-share loss. In an effort to cut costs, the company announced that it would slash 25% of its workforce. While revenue for the quarter increased to $42.5 million from $20.2 million, the firm said that it could fall below $30 million in the next quarter. Worse still, VA Linux said it now expects that it won't turn a profit until October, 2002, about nine months later than expected. Shares of VA Linux sank 20.7% to $5.75 on Instinet.

Finisar Meets The Street and Announces Acquisition

Finisar -- a firm that provides gigabit fiber-optic solutions for high-speed data networks -- reported earnings of 5 cents per share, in line with Wall Street's expectations. At the same time, the company stated that it would acquire Marlow Industries -- a company that designs and manufactures thermoelectric coolers -- for $30 million in cash and stock, valued at approximately $270 million less Marlow's transaction costs. Shares of Finisar traded down 17% to $15 on Instinet and moved lower 15.6% to $15.25 on Island.

TMP Worldwide Tears Past Targets

TMP Worldwide -- an advertising and marketing company -- posted fourth quarter earnings of 35 cents per share, above consensus estimates for a 31-cent-per-share result. The owner of the Monster.com Web site said that total commissions and fees were $351.9 million in the quarter, compared with $243.2 million in the fourth quarter of 1999. "Despite concerns of an economic recession and a slowdown in the labor markets . . . we remain positive about achieving our goals for commissions and fees and earnings growth for 2001," the company said in a statement. Shares of TMP Worldwide gained 3% to $51 on Island.

Intuit Bests Estimates but Warns About Revenue Growth

Intuit -- which makes accounting and tax software under the Quicken brand name -- announced second-quarter earnings of 48 cents per share, ahead of analysts' 45-cent-per-share estimate. Revenue was up $457.6 million from $425.5 million in the second quarter of 2000. The company, however, cautioned that revenue would be flat in the next quarter, between $455 million and $470 million. Despite the warning, shares of Intuit rose 6.5% to $34.81 on Instinet and gained 7.3% to $35.06 on Island.

10 most active stocks on Instinet (6:30 p.m. EST)
Company	Price	Change	Session Volume
JDS Uniphase (JDSU)	34.13	-0.19	530,570
Cisco Systems (CSCO)	26.19	+0.13	369,910
Intel (INTC)	31.44	--	263,875
Petro Brasil ( PBR)	28.95	--	219,200
Microsoft ( MSFT)	56	+0.13	162,912
Deutsche Telekom (DT)	24.01	--	150,800
WorldCom ( WCOM)	16.22	-0.16	143,449
Oracle ( ORCL)	23	-0.13	130,236
Ericsson ( ERICY)	8.98	+0.17	117,100
Sun Microsystems (SUNW)	22.38	+0.13	87,737

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 (7 p.m. EST)
Company	Price	Change	Session Volume
JDS Uniphase (JDSU)	34.16	-0.16	222,417
Nasdaq 100 (QQQ)	53	n.a.	116,137
Cisco Systems (CSCO)	26.19	+0.13	101,706
Intuit (INTU)	35.06	+2.38	91,635
Finisar (FNSR)	15.25	-2.81	86,196
Sun Microsystems ( SUNW)	22.44	+0.19	57,687
Juniper Networks (JNPR)	75.25	+0.50	48,067
Ariba (ARBA)	18.31	+0.31	45,043
Covad Communications (COVD)	1.69	+0.06	40,675
Tickets.com (TIXX)	0.81	-0.03	37,300

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

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.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints