Stocks to Watch, March 23: Freddie Mac, Palm and Amgen

SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trading in Friday's session are Freddie Mac, Palm Inc. and Amgen Inc.

Eldorado Gold Corp. (EGO) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial.

Embraer (ERJ) is expected to post earnings of 60 cents a share for the fourth quarter.

Freddie Mac (FRE) is expected to report first-quarter earnings of $1.33 a share.

After Thursday's closing bell, Palm saw earnings fall during the third fiscal quarter, though the company's revenue beat Wall Street's forecasts thanks to strong sales of its smartphone products.

Also, Sequoia Capital General Partner Michael Moritz will not seek re-election to his seat on Google's board of directors so he can focus more on his venture-capital work, Google (GOOG) said.

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3Com Corp. (COMS) reported a third-quarter net loss of $4.78 million, or a penny a share, compared with a net loss of $32.8 million, or 8 cents a share, during the year-ago period. The provider of voice and data networking solutions posted revenue of $323.4 million vs. $177.6 million. Additionally, 3Com said it has received final approval from the Chinese government for its proposed $882 million acquisition of Huawei Technologies' 49 percent stake in the Huawei-3Com Ltd. joint venture. The deal, which is expected to close by March 29, will give 3Com full ownership of H3C, the company said.

A. Schulman Inc. (SHLM+) cut its fiscal 2007 earnings outlook on continued weakness in Europe and North America during the fiscal second quarter ended Feb. 28. The Akron, Ohio, supplier of plastic compounds and resin to manufacturers said it now expects net income for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31 to be $25 million to $30 million, below prior guidance to meet or exceed fiscal 2006 net income of $32.7 million. A. Schulman said the new estimate includes $7 million of expected savings from North American restructuring and about $2 million of costs associated with restructurings disclosed in February, as well as in November.

Amgen (AMGN) said that it has discontinued a clinical trial evaluating the addition of its drug Vectibix to a treatment regiment of chemotherapy and the drug Avastin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, after the combination was found to hinder patient survival.

Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) signed a signed a definite agreement to buy label and tag company Paxar Corp. (PXR) for $30.50 a share, or about $1.34 billion.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) acquired the privately held retailer buybuy BABY for about $67 million, net of cash acquired, and repayment of debt of about $19 million. The Union, N.J., retail chain said buybuy BABY operates eight stores in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Bed Bath & Beyond said the acquisition allows the company to provide merchandise to expectant parents and their friends, who are part of its current customer base.

Activision Publishing Inc., a subsidiary of Activision Inc. (ATVI) , said it has signed a multi-year agreement granting the company exclusive worldwide rights to develop and distribute video games on all platforms based on Live Nation's (LYV) Monster Jam series. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The first game under the agreement is expected to be available at retail stores this holiday season, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Activision said.

Artes Medical Inc.'s (ARTE) fourth-quarter loss widened to $7.75 million from $5.38 million a year ago. On a per-share basis, the loss was $2.32, compared with $4.44 a year earlier, the San Diego medical technology company said.

Capital City Bank Group Inc. said (CCBG) it has approved an additional buyback plan of up to 1 million shares.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) named former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell to its board. Powell, 43, is currently a senior advisor for Providence Equity Partners and chairman of the MK Powell Group. He served as FCC chairman from 2001 until 2005. San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco's board now has 12 members.

G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (GIII) swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $518,000, or 3 cents a share, from a loss of $2.75 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier. The New York apparel manufacturer said net sales for the quarter ended Jan. 31 rose 43 percent to $98.8 million from $69.1 million a year ago. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted fourth-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share, and revenue of $99.4 million. G-III expects a first-quarter loss of $7.7 million to $8.4 million, or 51 cents to 56 cents a share, and net sales of $28 million.

IHS Inc. (IHS) said an existing shareholder has begun a secondary offering of 3.75 million shares. The Englewood, Colo.-based provider of technical information, tools and services said it won't receive any proceeds from the offering.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $2.9 billion, a 27 percent increase over the $2.3 billion it reported a year ago. The electronics contract manufacturer didn't give any earnings results due to ongoing company audit committee and accountant investigations into Jabil's historical financial statements. For the third quarter, Jabil estimates it will report a loss of 8 cents a share to a profit of 4 cents a share, on revenue in a range of $2.9 billion to $3 billion.

Standard & Poor's said it plans to add Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) to the S&P 500 index on March 30, replacing Sabre Holdings Corp. (TSG)

Merck & Co. (MRK) said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopted the unanimous recommendation of its advisory committee on immunization practices for the use of Gardasil in females ages 11 through 26. The Whitehouse Station, N.J., research-driven pharmaceutical company said the drug is indicated to help prevent cervical cancer, precancerous and low-grade cervical lesions, and other diseases caused by human papillomavirus. The guidelines state that routine vaccination with Gardasil is recommended for females ages 13 to 26 who haven't previously been vaccinated.

New York Times Co. (NYT) said it's increasing its regular quarterly dividend 31 percent, to 23 cents a share from 17.5 cents. The dividend is payable June 13 to shareholders of record as of June 1.

Nike Inc. (NKE) reported a nearly 8 percent jump in quarterly profit, helped by strength in Europe and Asia and favorable currency exchange, but said margins current quarter and year would be flat or slightly down.

Oneok Inc. (OKE) said it expects per-share earnings of $1.31 to $1.41 for the first quarter of 2007, 33 cents to 43 cents for the second quarter, 9 cents to 19 cents for the third quarter, and 62 cents to 72 cents for the fourth quarter. Additionally, both Oneok Inc. and Oneok Partners L.P. (OKS) reaffirmed their earnings outlook for full-year 2007. Oneok Inc. still sees per-share earnings of $2.35 to $2.75 for the year. Oneok Partners said it still expects earnings of $3.06 to $3.46 per unit for 2007. Also, Oneok Partners' distributable cash flow for the year is expected to be in the range of $370 million to $404 million, or $3.91 to $4.32 per unit, the company said.

Pozen Inc. (POZN) said its amended response to an approvable letter for its migraine treatment Trexima has been accepted for review by the Food and Drug Administration. Pozen said the FDA has also notified the company that it expects a Class II review, which could result in a new decision date of Aug. 1, 2007. Pending FDA approval, the product could be available in the second half of 2007, the Chapel Hill, N.C.-based company said.

RF Monolithics Inc. (RFMI) swung to a second-quarter loss of $3.99 million, or 44 cents a share, from a net income of $140,000, or 2 cents a share, as revenue fell 2.7 percent. The Dallas wireless technology company's revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 28 fell to $12.3 million from $12.7 million in the year-ago period. The company expects third-quarter sales to rise 5 percent to 10 percent sequentially. The company said it expects fiscal 2008 per-share earnings of 15 cents to 25 cents.

Sauer-Danfoss Inc. (SHS) said it's raising its quarterly cash dividend 13 percent, to 18 cents a share from 16 cents. The dividend is payable April 16 to stockholders of record as of April 2, the Chicago-based maker of hydraulic, electric and electronic systems and components said.