The Night Watch: Bristol-Myers Dives, Dell Moves Higher

Updated from 5:08 p.m. EST

Traders had plenty of earnings news and profit forecasts to keep them busy in the extended session Wednesday, and volume on the Instinet platform was the heaviest it has been this week.

Bristol-Myers Squibb

(BMY) - Get Report

was sinking 11.1% to $33.50 after saying that first-quarter and 2002 earnings would fall short of estimates and setting plans to revamp its operations. The pharmaceutical maker was the top volume mover and one of the biggest losers following the close.

Compuware

(CPWR)

was plunging 27% to $8.10. After the close, the software maker said fourth-quarter earnings would be only about half of what analysts were expecting. The company said it will earn 7 cents to 8 cents a share before items, while Wall Street is looking for a profit of 15 cents.

Planar Systems

(PLNR)

, a maker of electronic displays, was dropping 15.4% to $20.95 after saying that second-quarter and full-year earnings would miss expectations. The company cited higher-than-anticipated costs and continued softness in core markets.

Not all the news was bad, though, and a few companies that could influence trading on Thursday were offering positive comments about their results. Hardware maker

Dell

(DELL) - Get Report

was climbing 2.3% to $26.80 thanks to its expectation that revenue in the current quarter might come in a little higher than expected. The company still expects to earn 16 cents a share.

Also moving to the upside was

Bed Bath & Beyond

(BBBY) - Get Report

. The stock traded higher by 4.1% to $32.88 after the home products seller topped fourth-quarter estimates. The company said total sales for the quarter rose 18%, and it laid out plans to open 88 more stores this fiscal year.

Overall, investors were active. In the first 45 minutes of extended Instinet trading, around 4.5 million shares had changed hands among the top-20 volume movers.

Elsewhere among active issues, the

Nasdaq 100 Unit Trust

(QQQ) - Get Report

was off 0.3% to $34.93.

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

was up 0.6% to $56.65, and

Intel

(INTC) - Get Report

was gaining 1.1% to $30.21.

Cisco

(CSCO) - Get Report

and

Sun

(SUNW) - Get Report

were each up 0.6%, and

Oracle

(ORCL) - Get Report

was tacking on 0.2%.

PeopleSoft

(PSFT)

was gaining 2.6%.