STOCKS TO WATCH: Intel, NaviSite, ON Semiconductor

Intel shares will be active after it issued perhaps the least-surprising profit warning in its history, predicting first-quarter sales will fall about 25 percent from the $8.7 billion it recorded in the fourth quarter.

The chipmaker also said it will cut 5,000 jobs in the next nine months.

Intel now expects to record sales of around $6.5 billion, almost a $1 billion below the current First Call Corp. consensus estimates of $7.4 billion.

Company executives said the slowdown in PC demand has spilled over to its networking, communications and server business.

It also warned that gross profit margins in the quarter will fall to around 51 percent, plus or minus a couple of points, from its previous guidance of 58 percent.

Intel shares closed up 31 cents to $33.25 ahead of the warning before falling to $30.94 in after-hours trading.

Analysts were expecting a first-quarter profit of 21 cents a share.

NaviSite could slip even lower Friday after it posted a wider-than-expected loss in its second quarter Thursday and warned that its third-quarter and fiscal 2001 sales will fall short of expectations.

The provider of application and Web hosting services posted a net loss of $31.9 million, or 54 cents a share, on sales of $27.7.

First Call Corp. consensus pegged NaviSite for a loss of 48 cents a share on sales of $28.8 million in the quarter.

Its shares closed unchanged at $1.91 ahead of the earnings report.

Company executives told analysts to expect sales of $26 million in its third quarter and a loss of between 55 cents and 58 cents a share, below the Street's current estimate of $34.3 million and a loss of 45 cents a share, respectively.

For the fiscal year, it now expects to record sales of between $108 million and $111 million and post a loss of between $1.96 and $2.03 a share.

First Call Corp. consensus expected NaviSite to lose only $1.72 a share in the fiscal year on sales of $128.4 million.

The company will be on the move after it joined the rest of the semiconductor sector Thursday in warning that its first-quarter sales and earnings will miss analysts' estimates.

The maker of semiconductor components for the networking and wireless communications industries told Wall Street to expect a first-quarter loss of between 13 cents and 15 cents a share.

ON Semiconductor executives said first-quarter sales will fall 30 percent from the $490.7 million it recorded in the fourth quarter.

Its shares closed up 6 cents to $6.31 ahead of the warning before falling to $6 in after-hours trading.

Last quarter, ON Semiconductor topped reduced estimates when it posted a profit of $21.2 million, or 12 cents a share, on sales of $490.7 million.

Analysts were expecting the company to break even in the first quarter on sales of $470 million.