Cisco Rises in Late Instinet Trading

Shares of

Cisco

(CSCO) - Get Report

lifted 1 5/8 to 113 1/2 in late

Instinet

trading after the company posted third-quarter earnings of 38 cents a share, 1 cent above the 29-analyst

First Call

outlook and ahead of the year-ago 30 cents. Cisco also announced a 2-for-1 stock split.

TheStreet.com

covered Cisco's conference call in an earlier story.

Chevron

(CHV)

, rumored to be in merger talks with

Texaco

(TX) - Get Report

, has hired

Lehman Brothers

to advise the oil giant on potential merger and acquisition options, according to a

Reuters

report.

In other postclose news (earnings estimates from First Call; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified):

Earnings/revenue reports and previews

Abercrombie & Fitch

(ANF) - Get Report

recorded first-quarter earnings of 23 cents a share, beating the 17-analyst prediction for 17 cents and the year-earlier 12 cents. The clothing retailer also set a 2-for-1 stock split and said it plans to open 20 children's stores this year. The stock picked up 1/16 to 92 1/2 in after-hours trading.

Alliant Techsystems

(ATK)

reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.59 a share, topping the five-analyst expectation by 6 cents and moving ahead of the year-ago $1.45.

Asyst Technologies

(ASYT)

posted a fourth-quarter loss of 32 cents a share, 3 cents wider than the six-analyst forecast and significantly behind the year-ago profit of 42 cents.

Kent Electronics

(KNT)

reported fourth-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share, in line with the eight-analyst forecast but behind the year-ago 25 cents.

Mentor

(MNTR)

reported fourth-quarter earnings of 19 cents a share, missing the seven-analyst forecast for 28 cents and the year-ago 27 cents.

MTS Systems

(MTSC) - Get Report

reported second-quarter earnings of 15 cents a share, 1 cent higher than the two-analyst outlook but below the year-ago 26 cents.

Pacific Sunwear

(PSUN)

reported first-quarter earnings of 19 cents a share, a penny above the 13-analyst forecast and 6 cents ahead of the year-ago figure.

Premier Parks

(PKS)

announced a first-quarter loss of $1.16 a share, 3 cents narrower than the nine-analyst prediction but wider than the year-earlier loss of 39 cents.

Rock Financial

(RCCK)

said its second-quarter earnings will fall substantially below its first-quarter profit of 18 cents a share. The two-analyst view called for second-quarter earnings of 20 cents vs. the year-ago 23 cents. The retail mortgage provider blamed the warning on a decrease in conventional loan margins and a decrease on its branch system's conventional and subprime products.

Sterling Software

(SSW) - Get Report

posted second-quarter earnings of 40 cents a share, 2 cents higher than the five-analyst view and above the year-ago 28 cents.

System Software Associates

(SSAX)

warned its second-quarter results will fall below the four-analyst prediction for a loss of 7 cents a share. The company, which blamed the news on lower software license revenue, lost 20 cents in the year-ago period.

Western Wireless

(WWCA)

posted a first-quarter loss of 7 cents a share, 4 cents wider than the six-analyst outlook and in line with the year-ago loss.

Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures

Avondale Industries

(AVDL) - Get Report

said its board approved beginning talks with

Litton Industries

(LIT) - Get Report

about Litton's $38-per-share offer for the company. Meanwhile, Avondale and

Newport News Shipbuilding

(NNS)

agreed in January to merge in a deal valuing Avondale at $470 million, or $35.50 a share. Litton has offered to acquire both Newport News and Avondale for a total of $1.8 billion in cash, stock and debt assumption.

Lycos

(LCOS)

climbed 6 to 104 1/4 in after-hours trading following a

CNBC

report saying

USA Networks

(USAI) - Get Report

dropped its bid for the Internet portal.

Offerings and stock actions

Interstate Bakeries

(IBC)

added 3 million shares to a pre-existing repurchase plan for 1 million shares.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

priced

Time Warner Telecom's

(TWTC:Nasdaq) 18 million-share IPO above range at $14 a share. The company offers high-speed Internet access primarily to medium and large business customers in 19 U.S. cities.