Art Technology Cut in Half After It Warns of Wide Miss

Shares of software company Art Technology Group (ARTG Quote) were being cut in half after the company warned before the market opened Monday morning that it would widely miss earnings estimates.

The company said it would post a loss of between 19 cents and 22 cents per share for the first quarter of 2001 ending March 31, instead of a profit of 9 cents per share that had been forecast, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

The company also said that revenues for the quarter would be in the range of $40 million to $42 million, instead of estimates of more than $69 million.

Large customers are cutting their technology spending and the company was not able to close many of its expected deals, CEO Jeet Singh said in a release. The company has suspended some hiring and its expansion and is looking at areas in which to cut costs, he said. Singh said the company will provide new financial guidance for investors for the year after revising its operating plan.

In recent trading, Art Technology was trading down $6, or 50%, to $6.