Earnings Roundup: PairGain falters; Veritas thrives
PairGain Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: PAIR) continued its unfettered fall Thursday after missing analysts' estimates for the third consecutive quarter.
The maker of DSL networking systems posted a loss of $4.2 million, or 6 cents a share, on sales of $51.2 million.
Earlier this quarter, company officials warned that shipping delays of its Avidia systems would result in disappointing sales and a loss in the quarter.
Analysts lowered their collective estimate to a loss of 5 cents a share but it wasn't low enough.
The $51.2 million in sales represents a staggering 33 percent decline compared to the year-ago quarter when it earned $12 million, or 16 cents a share, on sales of $76.4 million.
It gets worse.
Gross profit margins fell to 35 percent in the quarter, down from 41 percent in the second quarter when it pocketed $3.5 million, or 5 cents a share, on sales of $61.2 million.
PairGain shares hit a 52-week high of 16 1/8 in May after falling to a low of 6 1/8 in December.
Despite its recent woes, nine of the 17 analysts following the stock steadfastly maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.
Among other technology companies reporting earnings Thursday:
First Call consensus pegged the software developer for a profit of 17 cents a share.
Company officials delivered even better news to investors by declaring a 3-for-2 stock split.
The $183.4 million in sales represents a 75 percent improvement compared to the year-ago quarter when it made $17.1 million, or 9 cents a share, on sales of $105.1 million.
The stock closed off 1 21/32 to 81 15/32 ahead of the earnings report. >