STOCKS TO WATCH: Broadcom, CTS, JDS Uniphase

The Irvine, Calif.-based communications chip company said it now expects earnings per share on a pro-forma basis of between 8 cents and 9 cents for the quarter ending in March.

The outlook fell well short of First Call consensus estimates calling for a profit of 25 cents per share.

Broadcom also said it now expected first-quarter revenues of between $315 million and $325 million.

"In February we started seeing a higher level of order delays by our customers," the company said in a release on Tuesday.

CTS, a leading manufacturer of electronic components for wireless applications, warned Wednesday that it will fall well short of analysts' sales and earnings estimates in the first quarter and fiscal 2001.

CTS executives warned investors that it expects sales in the first quarter to fall between 7 percent and 12 percent from the year-ago quarter. It now expects to earn between 4 cents and 8 cents a share in the quarter.

First Call Corp. consensus was expecting a profit of 67 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares closed off 10 cents to $37.90 ahead of the profit warning.

Company executives said sluggish sales to communications, automotive and computer customers will result in lower-than-expected sales and earnings for the fiscal year.

It now expects to earn between $2.10 a share and $2.40 a share in the fiscal year on sales roughly on par with the $866.5 million it recorded in fiscal 2000.

Analysts were predicting fiscal 2001 earnings of $3.20 a share.

The fiber-optic components maker will be active after it warned that its sales and earnings will fall short of previous guidance in the next two quarters.

The company said it now expects third-quarter earnings of 14 cents a share on sales of $925 million, down from current estimates of 17 cents a share and $1 billion, respectively.

It expects fourth-quarter results to match or slightly exceed third-quarter earnings and revenues. Analysts were expecting a profit of 16 cents a share in the fourth quarter.

JDS Uniphase shares closed off 31 cents to $28 ahead of the warning before falling to $26.75 in after-hours trading.

The company would not provide guidance for fiscal 2002 due to uncertainty over sales growth.

NetSilicon shares will be active after it missed analysts' estimates in its fourth quarter Tuesday, losing $2 million, or 14 cents a share, on sales of $7.8 million.

Analysts were expecting a loss of only 10 cents a share.

In the year-ago quarter, the computer networking firm earned $789,000, or 5 cents a share, on sales of $8.4 million.

NetSilicon said it expects a first-quarter 2002 loss of $2 million to $2.2 million, with a return to profitability by the third quarter.

Last quarter, it earned $672,000, or 4 cents a share, on sales of $10.7 million.

The stock closed off 31 cents to $4.63 ahead of the earnings report.

Its shares moved as high as $35.94 in July before slumping to a low of $2.25 in December.

Three of the four analysts following the stock rate it a "buy."

3Dlabs should be moving Wednesday ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings report.

Its shares closed unchanged at $1.63 Tuesday, well off its 52-week high of $8.69 set last March.

First Call Corp. consensus expects it to lose 13 cents a share in the quarter, roughly in line with its third-quarter when it lost $2.9 million, or 13 cents a share, on sales of $17.2 million.

The lone analyst tracking the stock rates it a "buy."

The stock slumped to an all-time low of 63 cents a share in December.