STOCKS TO WATCH: Akamai, Gadzoox, GoTo.com, NBCi and 3DO

Akamai could be in for a bruising Tuesday after it posted a wider-than-expected loss in its first quarter, dropping $33.2 million, or 44 cents a share, on sales of $7.2 million.

First Call Corp. consensus expected it to lose 40 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares closed off 11 1/16, or 13 percent, to 75 7/8 ahead of the earnings report.

The $7.2 million in sales marks a 167 percent improvement from the fourth quarter when it lost $2.9 million, or 17 cents a share, on sales of $2.7 million.

Akamai shares moved up to an all-time high of 345 1/2 in December before plunging to a low of 56 5/8 earlier this month.

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

Gadzoox might get a bump Tuesday after it slipped past analysts' estimates in its fourth quarter Monday, posting a loss of $3.4 million, or 13 cents a share, on sales of $15.1 million.

First Call Corp., an earnings tracking firm, expected Gadzoox to lose 18 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares closed up 3/4 to 32 3/8 ahead of the earnings report.

The $15.1 million in sales marks a 99 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it lost $4.2 million, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $7.6 million.

For the year, Gadzoox lost $10.3 million, or 43 cents a share, on sales of $47.9 million, up 93 percent from fiscal 1999 when it dropped $15.9 million, or 91 cents a share, on sales of $24.8 million.

GoTo.com also beat the Street in its first quarter, posting a loss of $9 million, or 20 cents a share, on sales of $17.2 million.

First Call consensus expected it to lose 33 cents a share in the quarter.

In the year-ago quarter, GoTo.com lost $7.4 million, or 24 cents a share, on sales of $1.4 million.

Its shares closed off 1 3/8 to 34 1/2 ahead of the earnings report.

NBCi checked in with a smaller-than-expected loss in its first quarter, losing $37.4 million, or 67 cents a share, on sales of $30.1 million.

First Call Corp. consensus expected NBCi to lose 72 cents a share in the quarter.

Ahead of the earnings report, its shares closed off 2 1/8 to 18 1/16.

The $30.1 million in sales marks a 165 percent jump from the year-ago quarter when it lost $27.7 million, or $2.01 a share, on sales of $11.3 million.

"NBCi continues to perform well financially, with our revenues and gross margins pointing in the right direction," said CEO Will Lansing in a prepared release.

In the quarter, the Internet portal said it grew its registered membership base to 19.3 million members, up from 16.2 million members at the end of the fourth quarter.

The game software publisher will be on the slide Tuesday after announcing it expects to report fiscal fourth quarter earnings ranging between $10 million and $11 million, or 22 to 25 cents per share.

First Call's survey of four analysts predicted a profit of 38 cents per share for the quarter ended Mar. 31.

3DO sees fourth quarter revenue ranging between $45 million and $47 million, or roughly double from $23 million in the year ago period.

The company blamed the earnings disappointment on delays in shipping a PlayStation title for its Army Men series of games, as well as a general industry slowdown.

"While our revenue growth continues to outpace many of our peers in the industry, there have clearly been some shifts at the retail level across multiple platforms which has resulted in slower than anticipated growth across the industry during the quarter," said Trip Hawkins, chairman and CEO of 3DO.

Its shares closed off 1/8 to 7 Monday.