Another Volatile Session Leaves The Dow Down Triple Digits (STEC, EMC, DTV, ATVI, CEC, UMC)

Stocks sunk on another volatile day on Wall Street, with the Dow down -140 points to 10,380. The S&P lost -17 points to close at 1,111, while the Nasdaq fell -54 points to 2,266. Oil dropped -$2.00 to $75.11 a barrel, while gold climbed $13.10 to $1,210.00 an ounce.

The Semiconductor Fabricator Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by UMC (UMC) with a 6% gain.

On the economic front, employers added 290,000 jobs in April, according to the Labor Department, the strongest monthly total since 2007. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate moved up to 9.9% last month from 9.7% in March due to more people looking for work.

In earnings news, shares of STEC (STEC) fell -2.7% after the company reported a Q1 loss of -$5.4 million, or -11 cents a share, due to a drop in orders from EMC (EMC), its largest customer. Last year, the company earned $3 million, or 6 cents a share. Adjusted EPS was -8 cents. Analysts were expecting a loss of -13 cents per share. Revenue sank nearly -39% to $38.8 million. Looking forward, the data storage device maker said it expects Q2 EPS of 0-3 cents on revenue of $48-50 million. The Street was looking for a loss of -9 cents per share on revenue of $38.5 million. A total of four pro investors counted the stock among their top 15 holdings at the start of Q1, as did 417 tickerspy members.

Satellite TV provider DirecTV (DTV) announced that its profit nearly tripled after it won more video customers from its competition in Q1. Shares of the stock rose 2.7%. For the period ended March 31st, net income was $558 million, or 59 cents per share, up from $201 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier. The consensus was for EPS of 45 cents. Revenue surged 14% to $5.6 billion, while free cash flow doubled to a better-than-expected $1 billion. A total of 65 pro investors counted the stock among their top 15 holdings at the start of Q1, as did nearly 130 tickerspy members.

Shares of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) edged up 0.7% on news that the company’s Q1 results were better than expected. For the January-March quarter, Activision earned $381 million, or 30 cents a share, up from $189 million, or 14 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted EPS was 9 cents, topping estimates by 5 cents. Revenue soared 33% to $1.31 billion, while adjusted revenue inched down -1% to $714 million. For the full year, the video game maker boosted its outlook to EPS of 72 cents on revenue of $4.4 billion versus estimates of 73 cents on revenue of $4.5 billion. For Q2, the company expects EPS of 4 cents on revenue of $700 million, below expectations of 9 cents on revenue of $804 million.

CEC Entertainment (CEC) saw its shares rise 1.6% after the company raised its 2010 outlook and posted quarterly profit in line with estimates. For Q1, the Chuck E Cheese owner earned $33.9 million, or $1.53 per share, matching estimates. Last year, net income was $34.1 million, or $1.48 per share. Revenue fell to $246.3 million. For FY10, CEC guided for EPS of $2.70-$2.80, up from its prior view of $2.68-$2.78. The Street was expecting FY10 EPS of $2.81.

Tags: ATVI, CEC, DTV, EMC, STEC, UMC