Adobe, Research In Motion: After-Hours Trading

Shares of Adobe Systems(ADBE) edged up in late trades on Thursday after the graphics design software developer posted above-consensus results for its fiscal fourth quarter.

Adobe reported a non-GAAP profit of $332.6 million, or 67 cents a share, in the three months ended Dec. 2 on revenue of $1.15 billion. The performance topped the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for earnings of 60 cents a share in the quarter on revenue of $1.09 billion. "Adobe's record results in Q4 and fiscal 2011 were driven by strong performance in our digital media and digital marketing businesses," said Shantanu Narayen, the company's president and CEO, in a statement. "We intend to be the market leader in these two large categories, which will drive strong revenue and earnings growth."The stock was last quoted at $27.40, up 2.3%, on after-hours volume of more than 400,000, according to Nasdaq.com. The company's outlook was a bit muddled though as Adobe is going through some major restructuring after announcing plans to cut 750 jobs and focus on its digital operations in early November. Adobe sees non-GAAP profits of ranging from 54 to 59 cents a share for its fiscal first quarter ending in February and $2.37 to $2.47 a share for the full year. Those views compare to the current average analyst estimates for earnings per share of 58 cents and $2.44 in the respective periods. Based on Thursday's regular session close at $26.46, the shares are down more than 12% so far in 2011. Wall Street was mildly bearish on the stock ahead of the report with 15 of the 27 analysts covering Adobe at either hold (11), underperform (2) or sell (2). The stock's forward price-to-earnings ratio sits at 10.8X, which is below a recent estimate of 12.5X for the S&P 500, and the shares have rebounded somewhat since hitting a 52-week low of $22.67 on Aug. 19.

Research In Motion

Shares of Research In Motion(RIMM) fell sharply in late trades after the BlackBerry maker once again was a disappointment to Wall Street. While the company's fiscal third-quarter results topped the consensus view, its outlook for its fiscal fourth quarter ending in March was below what analysts are expecting. Research In Motion forecast a profit of 80 to 95 cents a share with revenue ranging between $4.6 billion and $4.9 billion. The current consensus view is for earnings of $1.18 per share and revenue of $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter. The company also said it expects BlackBerry smartphone shipments of 11 million to 12 million units for the fourth quarter, down from 14.1 million in the third quarter. The stock was last quoted at $14.10, down 6.8%, on late volume of 6.5 million, according to Nasdaq.com. Other stocks active in after-hours action included Affymax(AFFY), sliding nearly 5% to $6.88 on volume of around 100,000 after the company and a partner said they won't commercialize a proposed anemia treatment in Japan; CryptoLogic(CRYP), soaring more than 40% to $2.23 on volume of more than 30,000 on news of potential acquisition offer valuing the company at $2.50 per share; and Accenture(ACN), slumping nearly 4% to $54.49 on volume of almost 200,000 after the consulting and technology services provider trimmed its full-year outlook by 4 cents to $3.76 to $3.84 a share to reflect changes in its foreign exchange translations assumptions. -->To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com >To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints