Cabletron plunges on downgrade

Cabletron Systems Inc. (NYSE: CS) plunged 36 percent Thursday after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock despite decent earnings.

Goldman Sachs said analyst Ajay Diwan cut his rating on the company to "market performer" from "market outperform." Additional details of the downgrade were not available.

In addition, Bloomberg News reported that Cabletron plans to cut as many as 800 jobs, or 18 percent of its payroll, as it splits into four companies.

Shares were down 18 to 31 7/8. Last month, Cabletron announced that it would split into four separate companies. Following the announcement, Cabletron shares doubled to a 52-week high of 52 3/4 earlier this month.

The company reported a fourth quarter profit of 15 cents per share on sales of $381.8 million. The results topped the Wall Street consensus estimate by a penny.

The company said it was pleased with results for the fourth quarter, and said business metrics have continued to improve.