Finisar Becomes a Finished Czar in Optics (FNSR, JDSU, CIEN)

The outfit’s third quarter revenue was up 58% to $263 million and earnings were $0.47 EPS.  Earnings met expectations and revenues were about $5 million above estimates.

Guidance for the current quarter of $235 million to $250 million in revenue is south of the $269.1 million that had been expected.  Earnings were projected to be $0.31 to $0.35 EPS versus the $0.48 estimate.

While the reasons are many, the magnitude of the miss was enough to take a bite out of peers.  To blame were longer negotiation periods for year-end by telecom customers, Chinese New Year forcing a week of business closure in China, and a generally slower Chinese business demand.

JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) is indicated down under $22.00 in early trading versus a $25.38 close, but its shares traded over 4.7 million shares in NASDAQ after-hours trading last night.  CIENA Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) is indicated down around $24.00 after a $25.68 close.

Finisar shares closed at $40.04 and the stock is now indicated down under $25.00 on more than 75,000 pre-market shares with just under two hours until the close.  Finisar went out at $25.70 on more than 4.3 million shares in the after-hours trading session alone.

JON C. OGG