Three Huge Tech Losers For Traders (EXTR, RVBD, SNDK)

Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR) was lower with a double-digit percentage loss after offering a preliminary guidance.  The company’s quarterly net revenue is expected to be $73.0 to $73.5 million versus a prior guidance $80 to 85 million.  This is also under a year ago.  Earnings will be about $0.04 per share, which up from a loss a year ago but it is under the $0.06 to $0.08 per share it previously offered.  Wall Street analysts were expecting sales of more than $82 million with earnings of $0.07 EPS.  Full 2012 sales are now in a range of $317 to $325 million with earnings of $0.22 to $0.26 per share versus a Thomson Reuters set of estimates of $0.27 EPS and $330.3 million in sales.

Extreme Networks went out in the after-hours session with a loss of more than 18% to $3.54 on almost 500,000 shares in the after-hours session alone.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) was hit hard last night with a double-digit percentage loss on its earnings report.  The company’s report was $0.20 EPS on $183 million in sales; Thomson Reuters was at -$0.20 but the revenues were supposed to be about $186 million.  The company sees second quarter adjusted earnings $0.21 to $0.22 per share and $193 to $197 million in sales, while Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.24 EPS on just over $202 million in sales.  For all of 2012, the company’s new revenue growth is put at about 15% instead of 17% to 20% previously offered.

Riverbed shares went out Thursday night at $23.00 for a 17.4% loss and almost 2.2 million shares traded in the after-hours session.  Shares are indicated around $22.70 in the pre-market session with more than two hours until the open.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) had already guided its sales and margins down on lower demand for its flash memory, but what was expected to be a weak report became even weaker after its new guidance targets.  Earnings came in $0.63 EPS versus a $0.70 consensus target and sales were $1.21 billion versus $1.23 billion expected.  Now the company put the coming quarter guidance at $1 billion with a $50 million buffer on either side while the consensus target was still all the way up at $1.3 billion.  Sales are now expected to be negative in all of 2012 versus the 2011 year for a comparison.  So much for a GARP and Value story.

SanDisk went out with a 13.7% drop to $34.90 in the after-hours session with more than 1.66 million shares recorded in the NASDAQ after-hours session.  Be advised that the 52-week low in SanDisk is down at $32.24.  Shares are indicated around $34.40 with more than two hours until the market opens.

JON C. OGG