Trimble shares tumble following 3Q warning

Trimble shares plunged 8 7/16, or 29 percent, to 20 15/16 Tuesday, one day after the company warned of disappointing sales in its third quarter.

Company officials said Monday that component shortages and the delay of a large government contract will result in lower-than-expected sales in its third quarter.

Trimble (Nasdaq: TRMB) which develops a variety of products based on global positioning systems technology said it now expects sales between $109 million to $112 million in the quarter and earnings of between 13 cents to 20 cents a share.

"The component shortage and its impact on our performance is disappointing, but demand for our positioning technology continues to be reflected in our strong backlog," said CEO Steven Berglund in a prepared release. "Although we resolved most of the component shortages for this quarter, this occurred too late in the quarter to affect revenue."

Last quarter, Trimble posted a profit of $12.3 million, or 48 cents a share, on sales of $71.2 million.

The stock hit a 52-week high of 63 1/4 in July after falling to a low of 9 last September.

All three analysts following the stock rate it either a "buy" or "strong buy."