Juniper Networks (JNPR) is on the upswing, with the stock catching a 6% boost Wednesday morning on the heels of a well-received fourth-quarter earnings report. Juniper reported a quarterly profit of $190.2 million, or 35 cents per share, substantially improved from its year-ago results of $22.9 million, or 4 cents per share. Excluding items, earnings improved to 42 cents from 32 cents per share on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, revenue for the quarter increased 26% to $1.19 billion. Gross margin retreated slightly, falling to 66.6% from 67.1%.

American Express (AXP - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company announced it expects to report fiscal-Q4 earnings of 94 cents per share, excluding one-time items. Analysts have forecast a profit of 95 cents per share. AXP also said it will record one-time charges totaling $113 million, related to restructuring and other changes. AXP will report full quarterly results on Monday, January 24. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on AXP.

This morning, AXP opened at $45.20. So far today the stock has hit a high of $45.70 and a low of $44.80. As of 12:15, AXP is trading at $45.17, down $1.20 (-2.6%). The chart for AXP looks bullish and S&P gives AXP a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

LeapFrog Enterprises (LF) plummeted more than 25% this morning, after the company warned that its full-year earnings will fall below Wall Street's expectations. The maker of educational toys expects to bank a profit of 3 cents to 6 cents per share for fiscal 2010, way below analysts' consensus estimate of 28 cents per share.

"After a solid start to the holiday season, demand softened late in the quarter relative to our expectations," explained CEO Bill Chiasson. "While sales of interactive reading products continued to grow at retail, the growth was less than we had forecasted and contributed to lower earnings growth than expected."

Mindray Medical (MR - option chain) shares are rising today after the Chinese medical devices company announced preliminary 2010 results, saying it now expects fiscal-2010 revenues to come in at $703 million, up from a previous forecast of $700 million. Analysts have forecast 2010 revenue of $703.56 million. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on MR.

MR opened this morning at $28.05. So far today the stock has hit a low of $28.02 and a high of $29.04. As of 12:15, MR is trading at $28.25 up $1.20 (4.4%). The chart for MR looks neutral and S&P gives MR a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

A parade of retailers have stepped up Thursday morning to unveil their December sales results, including The Gap Inc. (GPS). The jeans giant confessed to an unexpected 3% decline in same-store sales for the month, falling well short of analysts' expectations for an increase of 2.6%.

Gap North America was hit hardest, with same-store sales tumbling 8% for the month. The only business segment to record a gain for December was Banana Republic North America, as same-store sales improved 1%.

Clorox (CLX - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company said this morning it expects fiscal-Q2 sales to decline 3% to 4% compared to Q1. That translates to sales of $1.215 to $1.228 billion, compared to Q1 revenue of $1.266 billion. CLX also forecast adjusted earnings of 57 to 63 cents per share. Analysts have forecast a profit of 73 cents per share on revenue of $1.19 billion. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on CLX.

This morning, CLX opened at $61.58. So far today the stock has hit a high of $61.79 and a low of $60.56. As of 12:15, CLX is trading at $61.32, down $1.96 (-3.1%). The chart for CLX looks neutral and S&P gives CLX a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) has taken a drastic dive, with the stock staging a bearish gap with the sound of Friday's opening bell. Thursday night, the company unveiled its fiscal fourth-quarter results, and also confessed to a disappointing outlook for the first quarter.

Specifically, Green Mountain said it banked a fourth-quarter profit of $27 million, or 20 cents per share, up from its year-ago earnings of $14.1 million, or 12 cents per share. Sales for the quarter climbed 73% to $373.1 million. The results fell roughly in line with Wall Street's expectations, which called for a profit of 20 cents per share on revenue of $359.2 million.

Diamond Foods (DMND) was on the upswing Thursday, as traders cheered the company's latest earnings report. Diamond said it banked a fiscal first-quarter profit of $14.2 million, or 64 cents per share. Excluding items, earnings arrived at 65 cents per share, while revenue increased 40% to $252.6 million.

The results comfortably exceeded Wall Street's expectations, which called for a profit of 60 cents per share on revenue of $239.8 million.

Salesforce.com (CRM) is certainly enjoying a positive post-earnings reaction Friday. After unveiling its third-quarter results last night, the stock sailed to a new all-time high as a slew of brokerage firms rushed to raise their price targets on CRM.

Specifically, CRM swung to a third-quarter profit of $21.1 million, or 15 cents per share, while revenue increased 30% to $429.1 million. Excluding items, CRM earned 32 cents per share. By contrast, analysts were looking for a quarterly profit of just 31 cents per share on revenue of $410.5 million.

Chinese gaming concern Perfect World (PWRD) took the earnings stage last night, with the company unveiling a third-quarter profit of CNY213.7 million, or $31.9 million -- down 26% on a year-over-year basis. Excluding items, Perfect World earned CNY4.53 per share, or 68 cents, compared to Wall Street's forecast for 53 cents per share. Revenue for the period rose 12% to CNY658.2 million.

Despite Perfect World's respectable third-quarter performance, analysts seem less than thrilled with the firm's fourth-quarter outlook. Citigroup downgraded the stock to sell from buy, while Credit Suisse lowered its opinion to underperform from outperform.

Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN) was wallowing in red ink Friday morning, after the fast-food firm confessed to a third-quarter loss and warned that its full-year earnings would arrive at the low end of its previously forecast range. Even more troubling, the restaurateur said it's not yet prepared to offer financial guidance for 2011.

For the recently concluded quarter, Wendy's swallowed a net loss of $900,000 -- which translates to a negligible per-share deficit -- down from its year-ago profit of $14.69 million, or 3 cents per share. Revenue for the period slipped 4.7% to $861.2 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were anticipating a profit of 4 cents per share on $882.6 million in revenue.

Online jewelry retailer Blue Nile (NILE) took the earnings stage Friday morning, with the company reporting a third-quarter profit of $2.8 million, or 19 cents per share -- up 7.7% from its year-ago results. Net sales for the quarter added 0.8% to $67.5 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were looking for a third-quarter profit of 18 cents per share on $72.1 million in revenue.

For the current quarter, Blue Nile predicted a profit of 41 cents to 46 cents per share, with sales arriving between $106 million and $115 million. Analysts anticipate a fourth-quarter profit of 43 cents per share from Blue Nile.

The Old Grey Lady is ailing. Wednesday morning, New York Times Co. (NYT) warned that its third-quarter revenue will decline by a wider-than-expected margin, due to slower growth in digital advertising. Speaking at an investor conference in New York, CEO Janet Robinson explained that digital ad revenue is expected to rise about 14%, compared to its earlier forecast for growth in the mid-to-high teens.

As a result, the company expects to swallow a third-quarter operating loss of 5 cents to 7 cents per share. Excluding items, earnings are expected to arrive at 3 cents to 5 cents per share, compared to Wall Street's consensus estimate of 4 cents per share.

AK Steel (AKS - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company announced this morning that it now expects to lose $20 per ton of steel produced during the third quarter. It had initially forecast a profit of $15 per ton, but is now planning to take an 11-day maintenance outage on its blast furnace in Ashland, Kentucky, which will lead to the Q3 loss. The outage will begin around September 20. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on AKS.

This morning, AKS opened at $14.06. So far today the stock has hit a high of $14.21 and a low of $13.61. As of 12:25, AKS is trading at $13.69, down $0.84 (-5.8%). The chart for AKS looks bullish and S&P gives AKS a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

The shares of Lululemon Athletica (LULU) gapped higher right out of the gate this morning, as Wall Street cheered the athletic apparel company's latest earnings report. Lululemon raked in a second-quarter profit of $21.8 million, or 30 cents per share -- more than doubling its year-ago results of $9.2 million, or 13 cents per share. Revenue for the period climbed 56% to $152.2 million.

The results handily surpassed consensus expectations. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had been anticipating a slimmer second-quarter profit of 24 cents per share on $146 million in revenue.