STOCKS TO WATCH: About.com, Compuware, Digital Island, Hyperion Solutions, SGI and WebTrends

Keep an eye on About.com Tuesday after it posted a smaller-than-expected loss in its fourth quarter, losing $8.3 million, or 57 cents a share, on sales of $13 million.

The $13 million in sales marks a six-fold improvement from the year-ago quarter when it dropped $5.9 million, or 75 cents a share, on sales of $2.1 million.

In the quarter, About.com recorded 12.6 million users while average daily page views jumped 55 percent to 8.2 million in the month of December, up from 5.3 million in September.

For the year, About.com lost $49.4 million, or $4.15 a share, on sales of $27 million compared to a loss of $15.1 million, or $1.92 a share, on sales of $3.7 million in fiscal 1998.

Its membership base rose 68 percent to 3.7 million in December, compared to 2.2 million in September. Membership grew 68 percent to 3.7 million in December 1999, from 2.2 million in September 1999.

About.com shares moved up to a 52-week high of 100 in April before falling to a low of 19 1/2 in August.

Compuware might fall victim to the old "buy on the rumor, sell on the news" phenomena Tuesday after topping analysts' estimates in its third quarter.

In the quarter, Compuware earned $133.4 million, or 35 cents a share, excluding special charges and writedowns. First Call's survey of a dozen analysts predicted a profit of 33 cents per share.

Earlier this month, Compuware said it would report third quarter profits that would meet or beat the consensus estimate.

Third quarter revenue rose to $637.4 million, or 47.2 percent gain year-over-year. License fees improved 33.8 percent over the same period to $250.5 million. Maintenance fees grew 30 percent to $113.8 million and services revenue gained 72.5 percent to $273 million.

Not everything was rosy, as services margins of 2 percent were lower than expected.

Digital Island should rally Tuesday after it topped Street estimates in its first quarter, losing $22.3 million, or 61 cents a share, on sales of $7.6 million.

Its shares closed up 1 13/16 to 93 7/16 ahead of the earnings report.

The $7.6 million in sales marks a 449 percent jump from the year-ago quarter when it lost $5.9 million, or $2.33 a share, on sales of $1.4 million.

All six analysts tracking the stock maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.

First Call consensus expects it to lose $3.12 a share in the fiscal year.

Hyperion topped Street estimates by a penny a share in its second quarter, earning $7.1 million, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $115.8 million.

Its shares closed off 13/16 to 46 1/4 ahead of the earnings report.

First Call consensus expected Hyperion Solutions to earn 21 cents a share in the quarter.

The $115.8 million in sales represents an 8 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it pocketed $8.6 million, or 28 cents a share, on sales of $107 million.

Software license revenue increased to $55.7 million from $51.9 million a year ago, while maintenance and service revenue was $60.1 million compared with $55.1 million a year ago.

Hyperion reached a 52-week high of 48 1/2 earlier this month after falling to 9 7/8 in April.

SGI may be on the rise Monday after checking in with a second-quarter loss of $1 million, or a penny a share, on sales of $648 million.

Its shares closed up 1/4 to 11 1/4 ahead of the earnings report.

Last week, SGI told analysts that it expected to almost break even in the quarter rather than 13 cents a share as most analysts had predicted.

First Call consensus originally pegged SGI for a loss of 13 cents a share but revised that estimate to a penny a share following the SGI announcement.

Last quarter, it lost $20 million, or 11 cents a share.

Including a $16 million reduction in previously estimated restructuring costs, SGI earned $9 million, or 5 cents a share in the quarter.

SGI shares moved up to a 52-week high of 20 7/8 last January before slumping to a low of 6 7/8 in November.

Fifteen of the 16 analysts tracking the stock maintain a "hold" recommendation.

First Call consensus expects SGI to lose 29 cents a share in the fiscal year.

WebTrends inched past analysts' estimates in its fourth quarter Monday, earning $1.2 million, or 8 cents a share, on sales of $7.4 million. It also announced a 2-for-1 stock split.

Its shares closed up 6 to 95 5/8 ahead of the earnings report.

First Call consensus expected it to earn 7 cents a share in the quarter.

The $7.4 million in sales marks a 200 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it pocketed $101,000, or 1 cent a share, on sales of $2.5 million.

For the year, WebTrends earned $2.7 million, or 21 cents a share, compared to a profit of $220,000, or 2 cents a share, in fiscal 1998.