
Today's Tech Winners and Losers
Shares of
WebSideStory
(WSSI)
were among technology's losers Thursday, tumbling 17% after the provider of on-demand Web analytics posted mixed fourth-quarter results and offered a lower-than-expected outlook.
The San Diego-based company earned $5 million, or 25 cents a share, on revenue of $11.7 million. Excluding certain items, the company earned $2.96 million, or 15 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 14 cents a share and revenue of $12.2 million. A year earlier, the company posted a loss of $628,000, or 4 cents a share, on sales of $6.5 million. Excluding items, the company earned $954,000, or 6 cents a share, a year ago.
Looking ahead, WebSideStory sees first-quarter adjusted earnings of 11 cents to 13 cents a share and sales of $13.8 million to $14.3 million. Analysts project earnings of 14 cents a share and sales of $13.1 million. For the second quarter, the company sees earnings of 11 cents to 14 cents a share, before items, on sales of $15.8 million to $16.4 million. Analysts project earnings of 15 cents a share and sales of $14 million.
WebSideStory also said it bought Visual Sciences, a privately held maker of data analysis software, for $57.3 million. Shares were trading down $3.40 to $17.
Micrel
(MCRL)
jumped 17% after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and issued a first-quarter sales forecast that would top Wall Street's target. For the fourth quarter, the company earned $9.9 million, or 11 cents a share, up from $5.1 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose to $65.1 million from $59.4 million. Analysts expected earnings of 10 cents a share and sales of $66 million.
Micrel anticipates first-quarter sequential sales growth of 3% to 8%, which would result in sales of $67.1 million to $70.3 million. Analysts project sales of $66.7 million. Shares were trading up $2.10 to $14.58.
Shares of
i2 Technologies
( ITWO) rose 6% after the software company posted fourth-quarter results that were better than expected. The company reported pro forma earnings of $17.2 million, or 46 cents a share, well above analysts' forecast of 30 cents a share. The company had total revenue of $96.6 million, which included contract revenue of $23.2 million. The company reported sales of $73.4 million, compared with Wall Street's forecast of $70.9 million. During the year-earlier quarter, the company had a pro forma loss of $4.2 million, or 33 cents a share, on total sales of $77.4 million, which included contract revenue of $5.8 million. Shares were trading up 95 cents to $17.75.
Digital River
(DRIV) - Get Report
rose 8% after the company's fourth-quarter results and first-quarter forecast topped expectations. The Web-development services company earned $17.7 million, or 44 cents a share, on sales of $61.6 million in the fourth quarter. Excluding items, the company earned $14.8 million, or 35 cents a share. Analysts predicted earnings of 31 cents a share, with sales of $57.2 million. During the year-earlier quarter, the company earned $12.8 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $48 million.
Looking ahead, Digital Rivers sees first-quarter earnings of 31 cents a share, or 40 cents a share excluding stock-based compensation costs. Analysts predict earnings of 37 cents a share. The company sees first-quarter sales of $70 million, above Wall Street's forecast of $62.6 million. Shares were up $2.61 to $35.99.
Shares of
SiRF Technology
( SIRF) climbed 12% after the company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. The maker of semiconductor and software products earned $9.6 million, or 17 cents a share, on sales of $54.4 million. Excluding items, the company earned $11.5 million, or 21 cents a share. Analysts expected earnings of 19 cents a share, before items, on sales of $52 million. A year earlier, SiRF posted adjusted earnings of $5.1 million, or 10 cents a share, on sales of $27.5 million. Shares were trading up $4.23 to $38.96.
Shares of
@Road
( ARDI) tumbled 19% after the provider of mobile-communications services said it is losing its business with Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between
Verizon Communications
(VZ) - Get Report
and
Vodafone
(VOD) - Get Report
, is shutting down the cellular digital packet data network that @Road serves. Verizon also plans to discontinue @Road's service for its mobile resource management customers. @Road said it will discuss the matter in more detail in its Feb. 7 earnings call. Shares were down 95 cents to $4.14.
Other technology movers included
JDSU
(JDSU)
, down 10 cents to $3.06;
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
, down 26 cents to $21.29;
Lucent Technologies
( LU), up 6 cents to $2.70;
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
, down 37 cents to $27.67;
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Report
, down 14 cents to $12.44;
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Report
, down 11 cents to $18.47;
Sun Microsystems
(SUNW) - Get Report
, down 1 cent to $4.51;
Sirius Satellite Radio
(SIRI) - Get Report
, down 7 cents to $5.64;
Bookham
( BKHM), up 97 cents to $7.93;
Ciena
(CIEN) - Get Report
, down 13 cents to $3.91;
3Com
( COMS), up 14 cents to $5; and
Apple Computer
(AAPL) - Get Report
, down $2.19 to $73.23.