After moving higher for the most of the past month, networking stocks are giving back some ground during trading on Thursday. Disappointing earnings and guidance from Ciena Corp. (CIEN) have contributed to the selling pressure.
The weakness in the sector is reflected by the 1 percent loss currently being shown by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. With the loss, the index is pulling back off of the twenty-one month closing high set in the previous session.
Ciena said its first-quarter net loss widened to $0.58 per share and to $0.12 per share on an adjusted basis. Wall Street analysts had expected the company to report a loss of $0.06 per share for the quarter.
Ciena said its revenue for the quarter rose to $175.9 million from $167.4 million in the comparable period but fell short of the $184.55 million forecast for the quarter.
Looking ahead to the second quarter of fiscal 2010, the firm expects $190 million in sales, while analysts had estimated sales around $194.5 million.
The stock has plunged by 8.4 percent following the quarterly report, setting its lowest intraday price in nearly a month.
In other action within the sector, Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) and Emulex Corp. (ELX) are down by 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, backing down from yesterday's more than one-year closing highs.
Meanwhile, ADC Telecommunications Inc. (ADCT) and Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) are bucking the downtrend in the sector, rising by 1.9 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. ADC Telecom has reached its best intraday price in nearly four months.
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