Stocks to Watch, March 14: Lehman Brothers Holdings, J. Crew

SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to move in Wednesday's session are Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Hot Topic, and J. Crew Group.

Chipmos Tech Bermuda Ltd. (IMOS) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 16 cents a share, according to a survey of analyst by Thomson Financial.

Clean Harbors (CLHB) is expected to post earnings of 59 cents a share for the fourth quarter.

Hot Topic (HOTT) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 21 cents a share.

Lehman Brothers (LEH) is expected to post earnings of $1.96 a share for the first quarter.

Pep Boys (PBY) is expected to report a fourth-quarter loss of 12 cents a share.

Speedway Motorsports (TRK) is expected to post earnings of 66 cents a share for the fourth quarter.

Stage Stores (SSI) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 87 cents a share.

Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ) is expected to post earnings of 36 cents a share for the fourth quarter.

After Tuesday's closing bell, J. Crew Group Inc. (JCG) said it swung to a fourth-quarter profit of $44 million, or 71 cents a share, from a loss of $5.86 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted net income was $20.5 million, or 33 cents a share. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 28 cents a share.

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Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) said it plans to offer 5 million shares in an underwritten public offering. The underwriters will be granted an option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares to cover over-allotments, the Danvers, Mass.-based maker of medical devices said. The offering will be managed by Morgan Stanley & Co. and UBS Securities LLC as joint book-running managers, the company said.

Buca Inc. (BUCA) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $943,000, or 5 cents a share. In the same period last year, the company posted a net loss of $6.42 million, or 32 cents a share. The Minneapolis-based restaurant chain said revenue in the three months ended Dec. 31 rose 13.6 percent to $71.5 million from $62.9 million, while comparable sales in the period rose 4 percent. The fourth-quarter of fiscal 2006 contained 13 weeks, as compared to 12 weeks in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005. The additional week contributed roughly $6.1 million in sales, the company said.

Claire's Stores Inc. (CLE) said it is delaying its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2007 results in order to pre-clear an accounting issue with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CommScope Inc. (CTV) raised its first-quarter revenue forecast to $415 million to $425 million from a previous range of $390 million to $410 million, citing trends in sales, orders and operations. The Hickory, N.C., coaxial cable company also boosted its first-quarter operating margin expectation to 12.5 percent to 13.5 percent from a previous prediction of 10.5 percent to 11.5 percent, excluding any items.

Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) said Chief Financial Officer Robert Dykes and executive vice president Robert Sturgeon have resigned from the company, with Sturgeon's resignation effective this month. Dykes will step down at the end of April. Juniper has delayed filing several consecutive quarters of results, amid probes into its accounting practices for employee stock options.

Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. (GOLF) said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $1.57 million, or 10 cents a share, from $2.26 million, or 23 cents a shares, a year earlier. The Austin, Texas, sports equipment retailer's revenue rose to $75 million from $71.8 million in the year-ago period. For the first quarter, the company expects per-share earnings of 22 cents to 20 cents on revenue of $77 million to $79 million. For 2007, the company expects per-share earnings of 69 cents to 79 cents on revenue of $417 million to $430 million.

Gymboree Corp. (GYMB) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $24.4 million, or 75 cents a share, up from $20.4 million, or 61 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The San Francisco-based children's clothing retailer said revenue in the 14 weeks ended Feb. 3 rose to $241 million from $203.7 million in the comparable period last year.

Maxygen Inc. (MAXY) said Hoffman-La Roche Inc., a Nutley, N.J. pharmaceutical unit of F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., terminated its codevelopment and commercialization agreement, effective April 12. The Redwood City, Calif., biopharmaceutical company said under the agreement, Maxygen and Hoffman-La Roche developed the MAXY-VII blood product for acute bleeding indications

Pep Boys (PBY) named Jeffrey Rachor as president and chief executive, effective March 26. Rachor was also appointed to the board of the Philadelphia-based automotive aftermarket retail and service chain. Rachor most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Sonic Automotive Inc. (SAH) . Separately, Sonic Automotive named B. Scott Smith as president.

Pope & Talbot (POP) postponed its year-end 2006 earnings release, previously scheduled for March 15, to April 3.

Sapient Corp. (SAPE) said its preliminary results indicated it swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $686,000, or a penny a share, from a profit of $10.5 million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, earnings were 6 cents a share. The Cambridge, Mass., technology and business consulting firm said revenue increased 38 percent to $119.2 million from $86.6 million a year ago. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted fourth-quarter revenue of $110.4 million. Sapient predicts first-quarter service revenue of more than $116 million, the company said.

SeaChange International Inc.'s (SEAC) said its fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened slightly to $3.75 million, or 13 cents a share, from $3.07 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier. The Acton, Mass. digital video systems company's revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 31 rose 21 percent to $40.1 million from $33.2 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial estimated, on average, a fourth-quarter loss of 4 cents a share on revenue of $41 million.

SMTC Corp. (SMTX) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $2.11 million, or 14 cents a share, up from $1.42 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $76.1 million from $58.1 million.

Youbet.com Inc. (UBET) said it swung to a fourth-quarter net loss of $5.1 million, or 14 cents a share, from a year-earlier profit of $1.5 million, or 4 cents a share. The Los Angeles online-betting company's net revenue grew 41% to $9.2 million from $6.6 million a year earlier, while total revenue rose to $32.4 million from $20.8 million in the year-ago period. Net revenue for the recent quarter included $2.1 million from United Tote, which Youbet acquired in February 2006. Excluding an arbitration payment, tax settlement and other items, the loss for the recent period was 3 cents a share.