Tech Stocks in Motion

Superconductor Tech hammered on earnings slide.
By Mark Martinez ,

Updated from 1:24 p.m. EST

Shares of

Superconductor Technologies

(SCON) - Get Report

were among technology's losers Friday, falling 13% after swinging to a wider-than-expected loss during the fourth quarter and after the company said it will no longer offer quarterly financial guidance.

The maker of superconducting products posted a loss of $11.3 million, or 11 cents a share, on sales of $3.9 million. The results included restructuring and impairment charges totaling $1.9 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting a loss of 6 cents a share on sales of $4.12 million. A year ago, the company earned $1 million, or 1 cent a share, on sales of $16.4 million. Shares traded down 12 cents to 80 cents.

Essex

(KEYW) - Get Report

fell 1.7% after the provider of signal, image and information-processing solutions posted fourth-quarter results that beat expectations. The company earned $892,000, or 5 cents a share, on sales of $19 million. Analysts expected earnings of 3 cents a share on sales of $16.4 million. A year ago, the company earned $74,000, or 1 cent a share, on sales of $5.1 million. Looking ahead, Essex reaffirmed its 2005 sales outlook, saying that it expects sales of $155 million to $165 million. The results will include 10 months of sales from its Windermere subsidiary. Shares traded down 31 cents to $17.59.

Shares of

Sirf Technology

( SIRF) rose 10.7% after Deutsche Securities raised its rating to buy from hold and raised its price target on the stock to $14 from $10. The firm said that strong order booking and demand for its SirfstarIII single-chip GPS product led to the improved rating and revised price tag. Shares traded up $1.15 to $11.95.

Siebel Systems

( SEBL) fell 2.1% after the company said that it is being investigated by the

Securities and Exchange Commission

. The probe focuses on stock option grants. Siebel said that it one of a number of companies are being investigated. "The SEC has advised us that this is a confidential fact finding inquiry and has confirmed that the issuance of the order does not indicate that it has concluded that we have violated any securities laws," Siebel said in a regulatory filing. The company said that it is unable to estimate the possible financial impact the investigation could have on it. Shares traded down 19 cents to $8.84.

Shares of

NII Holdings

(NIHD) - Get Report

rose 6.4% after the company posted fourth-quarter results that were ahead of expectations. The mobile communication provider earned $40.8 million, or 52 cents, on sales of $362.9 million. Analysts expected earnings of 43 cents a share on sales of $336.9 million. A year ago, the company earned $35.8 million, or 52 cents a share, on sales of $263.2 million. Looking ahead, NII forecast 2005 sales of $1.55 billion. Analysts are expecting sales of $1.54 billion. Shares traded up $3.37 to $56.47.

Other technology movers included

Intel

(INTC) - Get Report

, down 65 cents to $24.20;

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

, down 34 cents to $25.09;

Cisco

(CSCO) - Get Report

, down 26 cents to $18.45;

Sirius Satellite Radio

(SIRI) - Get Report

, down 9 cents to $5.36;

Sun Microsystems

(SUNW) - Get Report

, up 7 cents to $4.45;

Oracle

(ORCL) - Get Report

, down 17 cents to $13.09;

Applied Materials

(AMAT) - Get Report

, down 43 cents to $16.40;

Lucent

( LU), down 8 cents to $2.92; and

Apple Computer

(AAPL) - Get Report

, up 44 cents to $40.27.

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