The Night Watch: After-Hours Gang Boosts Advanced Micro After Earnings Surprise

(Updated from 7:28 p.m. EDT)

Postclose patrons, who are thirsty for more, have a few reasons to belly up to the bar tonight.

After the bell, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD Quote - Cramer on AMD - Stock Picks), whose earnings release was tonight's most anticipated event, reported third-quarter results that surpassed analysts' expectations.

The manufacturer of microprocessors posted a 64-cent profit, topping the 62-cent analyst estimate and beating the year-ago 36-cent loss. In the after-hours market, AMD was up $1.75%, or 8%, to $23.50 on Instinet.

On the heels of Advanced Micro Devices' report, the company's rival, Intel (INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks), was ahead 94 cents, or 2.7%, to $36.31 on Instinet and higher 99 cents, or 2.81%, to $36.37 on Island.

Also tonight, communications chipmaker Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC Quote - Cramer on AMCC - Stock Picks) reported second-quarter earnings of 26 cents a share, besting the 23-cent consensus estimate and the year-ago 8-cent result. In addition to its strong earnings report, the company announced a 2-for-1 stock split.

Applied Micro's news sent its shares up $9.39, or 5.6%, to $177.13 Island ECN. It was the platform's most active stock, with 279,102 shares changing hands. Applied Micro was ahead $8.77, or 5.2%, to $176.50 on Instinet. The chipmaker closed the regular session down $10.02, or 6.12%, to $167.75.

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Redback Networks (RBAK Quote - Cramer on RBAK - Stock Picks), which surprised Wall Street with a third-quarter profit tonight, slipped in sunset action. The networking systems provider recorded a pro forma profit of two cents a share, compared to the analyst prediction of a two-cent loss and the year-ago 1-cent loss. Still, Redback Networks was down $1.56, or 1.4%, to $111 on Instinet and lower $2.69, or 2.39%, to $109.88 on Island.

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Last night's fallen soldiers -- Lucent (LU Quote - Cramer on LU - Stock Picks), Yahoo! (YHOO Quote - Cramer on YHOO - Stock Picks), and Motorola (MOT Quote - Cramer on MOT - Stock Picks) -- all traded heavily tonight.

Lucent, which warned investors that it would miss fourth quarter targets last night, hit a 52-week low of $20 today. But in twilight action, the telecommunications company lifted 38 cents, or 1.8%, to $21.63.

Yahoo!, on the other hand, shed 56 cents, or 0.9%, to $64.81 on Instinet. Yesterday evening, the tech bellwether reminded investors how difficult the environment is for Net companies. Yahoo! plunged 20.94% during the regular session.

Shares of Motorola, which dropped 18.33% today, edged up six cents, or 0.3%, to $21.50 on Instinet. This morning, the phone maker lowered its earnings expectations through 2001.

10 most active stocks on Instinet (6:30 p.m. EDT)
Company	Price	Change	Session Volume
Intel (INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks)	36.3125	+0.9375	539,336
Cisco Systems (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks)	51.71875	+0.53125	257,052
Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC Quote - Cramer on AMCC - Stock Picks)	176.5	+8.765625	254,317
Lucent Technologies (LU Quote - Cramer on LU - Stock Picks)	21.625	+0.375	157,150
Microsoft (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks)	56.0625	+0.3125	146,817
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD Quote - Cramer on AMD - Stock Picks)	23.5	+1.75	136,400
Redback Networks (RBAK Quote - Cramer on RBAK - Stock Picks)	111	-1.5625	126,750
JDS Uniphase (JDSU Quote - Cramer on JDSU - Stock Picks)	87	+1.125	109,020
Qualcomm (QCOM Quote - Cramer on QCOM - Stock Picks)	71.25	+0.75	87,668
MRV Communications (MRVC Quote - Cramer on MRVC - Stock Picks)	43.38	--	82,300

This information is provided by Instinet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters (RTRSY Quote - Cramer on RTRSY - Stock Picks). For further information, please contact Instinet at www.instinet.com.

10 most active stocks on Island ECN (8:00 p.m. EDT)
Company	Price	Change	Session Volume
Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC Quote - Cramer on AMCC - Stock Picks)	177.125	+9.3906	304,051
Intel (INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks)	36.37	+0.995	167,067
Yahoo! (YHOO Quote - Cramer on YHOO - Stock Picks)	64.6563	-0.7188	77,398
Redback Networks (RBAK Quote - Cramer on RBAK - Stock Picks)	112	-0.5625	61,744
Cisco Systems (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks)	52	+0.8125	53,098
Microsoft (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks)	56.1875	+0.4375	49,737
CMGI (CMGI Quote - Cramer on CMGI - Stock Picks)	19.25	--	35,872
Qualcomm (QCOM Quote - Cramer on QCOM - Stock Picks)	71.5	+0.5	34,017
Atmel (ATML Quote - Cramer on ATML - Stock Picks)	12.4	+0.15	29,985
Broadvision (BVSN Quote - Cramer on BVSN - Stock Picks)	23.8125	+0.125	28,821

Island ECN, owned by Datek Online, offers trading, mainly in Nasdaq-listed stocks, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT.

Confused? TheStreet.com explains how the rules change when the sun goes down in Investing Basics: Night Owl, a section devoted to after-hours trading.