STOCKS TO WATCH: Elantec, Gadzoox, Gateway, Juniper and Webvan

Elantec Semiconductor should gain ground Friday after it flew past analysts' estimates in its third quarter.

The chipmaker posted a profit of $5.8 million, or 24 cents a share, on sales of $28.6 million.

First Call Corp. consensus pegged it for a profit of 19 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares closed up 5 1/4 to 63 1/4.

The $28.6 million in sales represents a 120 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it earned $1.5 million, or 7 cents a share, on sales of $13 million.

Last quarter, Elantec rolled past analysts' estimates, pocketing $3.4 million, or 29 cents a share, on sales of $20 million.

Bad news for Gadzoox after it posted a wider-than-expected loss in its first quarter Thursday, losing $9.4 million, or 35 cents a share, on sales of $9 million.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 26 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares closed up 1 to 13 3/4 ahead of the earnings report.

The $9 million in sales was down slightly from the year-ago quarter when it lost $3.5 million, or 18 cents a share, on sales of $9.2 million.

"The quarter's behind us," said CEO Bill Sickler in a prepared release. "While we are disappointed with the results in the distribution channel, we are already moving to address issues in this area."

Gateway shares will be hopping Friday after the PC maker topped analysts' estimates by a penny a share in its second quarter.

In the quarter, it raked in $122 million, or 37 cents a share, on sales of $2.14 billion.

In the year-ago quarter, it earned $89.2 million, or 28 cents a share, on sales of $1.91 billion.

Gross margins were a record 23.3 percent of sales, an increase of 1.30 percentage points over last year.

"For the second time in two quarters, we have grown net income at triple the rate of our revenue growth, meaning we're getting the lion's share of profitable PC sales," said CEO Jeff Weitzen in a prepared release.

Company officials added that they were comfortable with current Wall Street estimates of 45 cents a share in the third quarter.

Its shares closed up 1/16 to 71 ahead of the earnings report.

Juniper Networks figures to jump after it doubled the Street estimates in its second quarter.

In the quarter, Juniper pocketed $28.6 million, or 8 cents a share, on sales of $113 million.

First Call Corp. consensus pegged it for a profit of 4 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares closed up 17 9/16, or 12 percent, to a 52-week high of 169 1/2 ahead of the earnings report. The stock moved up to 173 7/8 in after-hours trading.

In the year-ago quarter, Juniper posted a loss of $2.9 million, or 3 cents a share, on sales of $17.6 million.

"As we continue towards the next milestone in building Juniper Networks into a franchise, we remain focused on relentless execution," said CEO Scott Kriens in a prepared release. "Our results this quarter are representative of the opportunity we see to build the global IP infrastructure."

Webvan could face some pressure Friday after it posted a wider-than-expected loss in its second quarter, losing $57.1 million, or 17 cents a share, on sales of $28.3 million.

A survey of analysts by First Call Corp. predicted Webvan would lose 16 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares hustled up 1 7/16, or 18 percent, to 9 5/16.

In the year-ago quarter, Webvan reported a loss of $23.4 million, or 38 cents a share, on sales of $383,000.

"I am very pleased with Webvan's performance in the second quarter," said CEO George Shaheen in a prepared release. "Our launch in the Greater Atlanta area has been very successful, demonstrating our ability to replicate our business in new markets and to ramp up our customer base."

In the quarter, Webvan said it had 160,000 active customers, up 84 percent from the first quarter. Repeat orders accounted for 76 percent of its total orders in the second quarter.

Webvan said it ended the second quarter with $410 million cash on hand.

Last quarter, Webvan slipped past analysts' estimates when it lost $38.7 million, or 12 cents a share, on sales of $16.3 million.