Stocks to Watch: MGIC Investment Corp., Pier 1 Imports, and Lam Research Corp.

SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trading in Thursday's session are MGIC Investment Corp., Pier 1 Imports Inc., and Lam Research Corp.

Cascade Bancorp (CACB) is expected to report first-quarter earnings of 35 cents a share, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial.

Commerce Bancshares Inc. (CBSH) is expected to post earnings of 76 cents a share for the first quarter.

Cost Plus Inc. (CPWM) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 84 cents a share.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (KKD) is expected to post earnings of 5 cents a share for the fourth quarter.

Lam Research (LRCX) is expected to report third-quarter earnings of $1.06 a share.

MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG) is expected to post earnings of $1.71 a share for the first quarter.

Pier 1 Imports (PIR) is expected to report a fourth-quarter loss of 32 cents a share.

Polaris Industries Inc. (PII) is expected to post earnings of 32 cents a share for the first quarter.

Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share.

After Wednesday's closing bell, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) (RIM) said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit surged tenfold from a year earlier, when it had a large legal expense, as sales rose 66 percent on strong demand for the company's Blackberry wireless devices.

Also, Genentech (DNA) said its first-quarter profit surged 68 percent and sales rose 43 percent from the same period a year ago even as sales of two of its key cancer treatments came in lower on a sequential basis.

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Advanced Magnetics Inc. (AMAG) said its Phase III studies on ferumoxytol, an intravenous iron replacement, met their primary and secondary endpoints. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company said the two studies demonstrate a significant improvement in hemoglobin levels for non-dialysis dependent patients using the drug, compared with oral iron supplements.

Teen-wear apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) said hot sales on spring things powered a 20 percent jump in same-store sales in March. That was well ahead of the 11.1 percent projection reached by analysts reporting to Thomson Financial. Total sales surged 35 percent to $271.5 million during the five-week period. As a result, American Eagle raised its first-quarter profit forecast from 34 cents a share to 35 cents a share. At Thomson Financial, analysts had pegged the average forecast at 33 cents a share.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $205.8 million, or 72 cents a share, up 4 percent from $197.9 million, or 67 cents a share, during the year-ago period. The Union, N.J.-based retailer company posted revenue of $1.99 billion vs. $1.69 billion. The current results included a non-recurring charge of about $30 million, or 7 cents a share, related to Internal Revenue Code Section 409A, the company said. Excluding the charge, per-share earnings were 79 cents vs. 67 cents.

CheckFree Corp. (CKFR) confirmed that it has had discussions with an unnamed "large customer" over the possibility of the customer "pursuing an in-house approach" for some of Checkfree's services. Atlanta-based Checkfree added that "there have been no changes to any material customer contracts." Earlier Wednesday, JMP Securities analyst David Scharf said he was fairly certain that Bank of America is planning to transition the payment warehouse portion of its online bill-pay processing to an in-house solution. Scharf said he believed BofA's business accounted for $170 million, or 20 percent of CheckFree's fiscal 2006 revenue, with bill-pay services accounting for $150 million.

Christopher & Banks Corp.'s (CBK) fiscal fourth-quarter net income plunged to $1.93 million, or 5 cents a share, from $6.68 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. The Minneapolis-based women's retailer said net sales for the 14-week quarter ended March 3 increased 5.8 percent to $134 million, compared with $126.6 million in the 13-week period a year ago. Christopher & Banks expects a first-quarter net income range of 30 cents to 31 cents a share.

Dot Hill Systems Corp. (HILL) said it now expects a first-quarter loss of 13 cents to 15 cents a share on revenue of $53 million to $54 million. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based provider of storage systems previously forecast a per-share loss of 20 cents to 23 cents a share on revenue of $46 million to $49 million. Dot Hill said the increased forecast is largely due to higher-than-expected revenue and margin contribution from its largest OEM customer.

Health Care REIT Inc. (HCN) said it plans to offer 5 million shares of its common stock.

Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT) said March sales at stores open at least one year rose 3.4 percent from last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting same-store sales for the period to rise 0.5 percent. The City of Industry, Calif.-based teen retailer said total sales for the five-week period ended March 31 rose 7 percent to $63.6 million.

Interphase Corp. (INPH) said it expects to report a "significant revenue shortfall" for the first quarter. Interphase shares recently traded at $9.86 after hours, a decline of 27.8 percent from the regular-session closing price of $13.66. The Plano, Texas, networking technologies company expects a first-quarter loss of $1.7 million to $2.2 million on revenue of $5 million to $5.1 million.

Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) named Stuart Burgdoerfer as chief financial officer, effective immediately.

Men's Wearhouse Inc. (MW) expects its fiscal first-quarter earnings on the lower end of its previously stated range of 63 cents to 67 cents a share. A Thomson Financial survey of analysts, on average, expects earnings of 66 cents a share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates usually exclude items. The Houston off-price specialty retailer cited softening U.S. sales for the change in forecast.

Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) expects first-quarter income of 60 cents to 65 cents a share. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect first-quarter earnings of 53 cents a share. In the year-ago first quarter, the company earned 60 cents a share. The El Dorado, Ark., oil and gas producer projects production and sales volume of 94,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Murphy Oil expects first-quarter corporate charges of about $13 million.

Nestle SA (NSRGY) will acquire the Gerber baby-food unit from Novartis (NVS) , according to published reports.

New York Times Co. (NYT) said it expects to record charges in the range of $152 million to $169 million related to the closure of its Edison, N.J., printing plant. The newspaper publisher also will cut 250 jobs in the Edison closure and the consolidation of its print operations to its plant in the New York City borough of Queens, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

NovaStar Financial Inc. (NFI) said it has initiated a formal process to explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. The mortgage lender said it has retained Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. to act as an adviser. NovaStar also said it has received a commitment for an additional financing facility of up to $100 million.

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) received regulatory clearances required to buy Hyperion Solutions Corp. (HYSL) . In March, the Redwood Shores, Calif., software company launched a $3.3 billion, or $52 a share, offer for Hyperion, which specializes in business-intelligence software.

Ruby Tuesday Inc. (RI) earned $28.7 million, or 49 cents a share in its fiscal third quarter, down from $30.2 million, or 50 cents, in the year-ago period, the company said Wednesday. Excluding charges, the company would have earned 57 cents, a 14 percent increase. Total sales were up almost 12 percent to $377.9 million but sales at restaurants open at least a year fell 1 percent. Ruby Tuesday also said that effective with the start of trading on Thursday, its ticker symbol with change to RT.

SAIC Corp. (SAI) said fourth-quarter earnings fell to $84 million, or 20 cents a share, from a year-earlier profit of $154 million, or 44 cents a share, when there were fewer shares outstanding.

Thomas Properties Group Inc. (TPGI) said it plans to offer 7 million shares of its common stock in a public offering.

Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ) said its March same-store sales increased 17 percent for the five weeks ended April 7. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected, on average, March same-store sales to increase 9.8 percent. Total sales for the Everett, Wash., sports-related apparel retailer rose 53.7 percent to $28.3 million from $18.4 million in the five-week period ended April 1, 2006.