Top After-Hours Stocks on the Move (ACE, CPTS, CWTR, GPS, LWSN, NANO, NUHC, SCSC)

There are several stocks on the move in after-hours trading tonight.  Some are on earnings and some are carry-over trades on the surface.  We have reviewed the moves and added color in on after-hours trading activity in Conceptus, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTS), Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR), The Gap, Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Lawson Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: LWSN), Nanometrics Incorporated (NASDAQ: NANO), Nu Horizons Electronics Corp. (NASDAQ: NUHC), and ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC).  We also have an index move for ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE).

ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE) is up big after the reinsurer was announced as the replacement for Millipore in the S&P 500 Index.  Shares are up what appears to be almost 5% at $54.79.  With a $17.7 billion market cap, this one will be a decent ‘must buy’ stock for index funds that now have to buy the stock whether they wanted to or not.

Conceptus, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTS) shares were down over 30% initially after the reproductive medical device company lowered guidance.  On last look shares have come off lows after the 4PM close, but the stock is still down right at 25% at $11.85 on post-4PM volume of 354,000 shares.

Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR) is showing up as a hard one to call on the surface but it may have just been a pick-off trade in the after-hours.  The after-hours drop was down to $3.40 for a 5.5% drop from the $4.60 close.  The after-hours trading volume was enough on the surface at 21,000 shares, but the issue is that this was only 150 shares for the last print and the last bid-ask spread is wide in after-hours.

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE: GPS) looks like one of the best winners in after-hours after a bad day, but it is an off trade above market for 16,000 shares at $19.77 when the bid/ask is now back to $18.20/$18.34 after a $18.22 close.  Same store sales were flat and gave investors pause today, but this print is above the intra-day high of $19.26.  This is either an error trade or a delayed report trade not even from today.

Lawson Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: LWSN) looks and feels like a name change to “Lost One.”  It met earnings expectations, but guidance is soft.  Shares are down 3.5% at $7.35 on about 70,000 shares since the closing bell.

Nanometrics Incorporated (NASDAQ: NANO) did not at all like the price drop today after Oppenheimer cut the shares to Perform with a $10 price target.  Shares fell a sharp 20% to $8.69 today on the news.  After the close, the company issued a statement that it was reaffirming “its positive business outlook for 2010 and 2011” and the shares have recovered some.  Shares are up over 4% but still only at $9.06 in the after-hours after closing at $10.86 on Wednesday.  There have been over 100,000 shares traded since after the close.

Nu Horizons Electronics Corp. (NASDAQ: NUHC) announced record first quarter net revenues after the close of $211 million, up 42.6% from a year ago and up 12.8% sequentially; excluding Xilinx products, quarterly revenues grew 52.7% from a year ago and 14.1% sequentially.  Shares have thin after-hours trading but the stock is up 9.6% at $3.65 and that is after a gain of 8.8% during normal hours today.

ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC) guided sales in the range of $573 million to $583 million, compared to $441 million for the same period one year ago and compared to $540.34 million from Thomson Reuters estimates.  Shares closed at $25.10, and shares are up 6.2% at $26.66 on 31,472 shares since the 4 PM close.

JON C. OGG