STOCKS TO WATCH: Corning, Exodus, VeriSign, VerticalNet

Corning will be on the move Friday after it inched past analysts' estimates in its first quarter but warned that its 2001 earnings will fall more than 20 percent from fiscal 2000. It also announced it would cut 4,300 jobs.

In the quarter, Corning earned 29 cents a share, beating the Street view by a penny a share.

However, it now expects to earn between 90 cents and $1 a share in the fiscal year, down from $1.23 a share in fiscal 2000.

Second-quarter profits are expected to come in between 18 cents and 21 cents a share, well below the current First Call consensus estimate of 28 cents a share.

Its shares closed off 98 cents to $21 ahead of the earnings report before moving up to $21.31.

The Web hosting firm should be active after it posted a first-quarter loss of $118.3 million, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $348.7 million.

Analysts were expecting a loss of between 28 cents a share in the quarter.

The company said it has reduced capital spending plans for the rest of the year by $300 million and will cut its staff through attrition.

Exodus shares closed off 80 cents to $9.03 ahead of the report before moving up to $9.12 in after-hours trading.

The company reported first-quarter operating results that topped expectations on corporate demand for its security and other online services.

VeriSign, best known for operating the database that allows Internet users to submit domain names, reported revenues of $213.4 million for the first quarter, up sharply from $34.1 million a year earlier.

Excluding non-cash charges and one-time items, the company reported earnings of $48.6 million, or 23 cents per share, near double the consensus forecast.

Analysts had projected earnings of between 12 and 14 cents per share, according to First Call.

VerticalNet met analysts' estimates in its first quarter but still lost $28.2 million, or 30 cents a share, on sales of $36.7 million.

First Call consensus pegged the provider of online marketplaces and software to lose 30 cents a share on sales of $34 million.

Its shares closed off 4 cents to $1.98 ahead of the earnings report before moving up to $2.12 in after-hours trading.

The $36.7 million in sales represents a 185 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it lost $13.6 million, or 18 cents a share, on sales of $12.9 million.

Looking ahead, VerticalNet told analysts to expect second-quarter sales of between $32 million and $34 million and a loss of between 22 cents and 23 cents a share.

Analysts were projecting a loss of 25 cents a share on sales of $45 million in the quarter.

For the fiscal year, VerticalNet expects to lose between 56 cents and 60 cents a share on sales of between $150 million and $160 million.

First Call consensus pegged it for a loss of 73 cents a share in the fiscal year on sales of $234.4 million.