Early Tech Stocks in Motion

Intel takes up the low end of its sales guidance.
By Mike Marino ,

Updated from 7:01 a.m. EST

Intel

(INTC) - Get Report

said late Thursday that first-quarter revenue will come in between $9.2 billion and $9.4 billion, raising the low end of the range from its previous $8.8 billion. The microprocessor giant also said gross margin should be about 57% in the quarter, up from its previous estimate of 56%. The Thomson First Call consensus had been for revenue of $9.15 billion and earnings of 28 cents a share. Intel doesn't comment on the latter in its mid-quarter updates. On a conference call to discuss the announcement, Intel put full-year margins at about 58%.

Qualcomm

(QCOM) - Get Report

rose early Friday after analysts at UBS raised their investment rating to buy, citing opportunities in the 3G cell-phone market. The price target was raised to $50 from $45, while the stock was recently up 67 cents to $37.75 on Instinet. Earlier this week, Qualcomm announced that its founder, Irwin Jacobs, planned to cede the CEO post to his son Paul.

Tech Data

(TECD) - Get Report

earned $59.3 million, or 99 cents a share, for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, on a 14.2% rise in sales to $5.6 billion. The numbers include a tax-related benefit of $11.5 million, or 19 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 73 cents a share, excluding the gain, on revenue of $5.24 billion, according to Thomson First Call. The company attributed the rise in revenue to strong sales in the U.S. which made up 40% of total sales worldwide for the fourth quarter. Looking forward, the company expects to earn 57 cents to 62 cents, excluding items, in the first quarter on revenues of $4.95 billion to $5.10 billion. Analysts are looking for 67 cents per share on $5.1 billion in revenue, according to Thomson First Call.

TiVo

(TIVO) - Get Report

reported a net loss of $33.7 million, or 42 cents a share, for the fourth quarter ended Jan 31, compared with a loss of $12.4 million, or 18 cents a share, a year ago. The video recorder company attributed the widened loss to the impact of an rebate expense and the redemption of its 7% convertible notes. According to Thomson First Call, analysts were expecting a loss of 43 cents. Service revenues were up 73% to $33 million compared to last year and net subscribers nearly doubled for the fourth quarter compared to last year. Looking forward, the company said it is looking for a loss for the year in the range of $10 million to $25 million, on revenue of $155 million to $165 million.

Optical networker

Avanex

(AVNX)

cut third-quarter guidance Thursday, blaming a weak dollar and hard pricing bargains. For its third quarter ending this month, the Fremont, Calif., components maker expects to post a slight decline from second-quarter results, when it lost 11 cents a share before items on sales of $41.9 million. The company now sees a loss of more than 11 cents a share on revenue of around $41 million. "We have seen some operating pressures in the current quarter due to the deteriorating dollar/euro exchange rate and annual product pricing negotiations."

eResearch Technology

(ERES)

guided much lower than investors wanted to hear during its mid-quarter update. The company, which makes heart monitors, expects revenue in the first quarter ended March 31, 2005 to be 12% to 18% below the low end of the previous guidance range. The company said delays in trial starts, reluctance of sponsors to initiate thorough cardiac safety studies, and uncertainty related to the closing targeted one-time system and technology contracts for the quarter are reasons for the lower guidance. In February, the company forecast first-quarter revenue of $26 million to $28 million.

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