Agilent Technologies (A), a business dedicated to electronics used in chemical and biological testing, issued its fiscal first-quarter numbers after the bell today. The initial market reaction following the release was bearish: the shares were off by 1.8% to $44.

That might be a disappointment to those who own the company. The 52-week low for the shares is $26.68 while the 52-week high is $45.42. The stock is obviously near its top point for the year, so there was arguably some optimism in the air for the prospects of the price movement during the extended-hours session. Looking at the chart, it can be seen that Agilent has been on a notable run-up for a while.

"Is Apple ((AAPL) undervalued? We expect the company's earnings to grow at a rapid 24% pace during the next five years," says J. Royden Ward who believe the tech stock meets the criteria for a long-term value investment.

The editor of Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter explains, "At 14.7 times our one-year forward EPS estimate, shares are clearly undervalued. Indeed, we consider AAPL to be low risk.

"Apple develops, manufactures and markets personal computers and consumer electronic products. Exciting new products portend continued rapid growth in future years.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) was off today after the company issued results for the fourth quarter. With a little more than thirty minutes to go before the end of the regular session, I'm seeing a quote of $74.25, a price that represents a drop of about 1.6%. Volume is above average.

According to the press release, profit on a reported basis calculated out to 66 cents per share. A year ago, Cognizant booked 47 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, net income was 70 cents per share this time around versus 50 cents per share in the comparable period. Earnings.com says the call was for 65 cents per share.

"Microsoft (MSFT) recently released its fiscal second-quarter results; we felt results were really quite strong, with solid gains in most segments and good cost discipline," says Geoffrey Seiler.

The editor of Bullmarket.com explains, "If these results were from another company, the stock likely would have gotten a lift. But Microsoft is the Rodney Dangerfield of companies: it doesn't get the respect it deserves.

"Microsoft reported net income of $6.63 billion, or 77 cents per share, compared with $6.66 billion, or 74 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales grew by 5% to $19.95 billion from $19.00 billion.

Broadcom (BRCM), maker of semiconductors for the communications industry, had a tough time in Tuesday's extended-hours session after the company released its latest earnings report. The stock went down 6% to a quote of $43.55. That was quite the reversal of fortune, as the shares had closed the regular session higher by 2.9%, settling out at $46.39. The 52-week high is $47.39, so the pullback might be considered a bit of a disappointment.

Then again, is a pullback in this name an opportunity? The business made, on an adjusted basis, 75 cents per share in the fourth quarter, according to MarketWatch. This was one penny better than the consensus estimate.

"The growth in hand held devices such as the iPhone and iPad has led to a surge in flash NAND demand," suggests Ian Wyatt.

The editor of Top Stock Insights explains, "As a result, there is a lot to like about component supplier Micron Technology (MU). Last year, the company gained market share and became the world's third-largest NAND supplier.

"Micron had a terrific first quarter financial report. Revenue increased by 28% to $2.2 billion from $1.7 billion in 2010. Operating income also increased by a wide margin, surging to $390 million from $201 million last year.

"Apple (APPL) recently reported quarterly sales and profits that exceeded Wall Street's expectations by a country mile," notes dividend reinvestment expert Chuck Carlson.

The editor of The DRIP Investor explains, "The company's humongous cash haul begs the question -- when will Apple start to pay a dividend.

"Revenue rose 71%, while profits jumped 75% to $6.43 per share, beating the consensus earnings estimate by a whopping $1.03 per share.

If you think the economic recovery is just beginning, then these three stocks will benefit. They've just released their earnings so you can see how they've fared even in these tough times. They all share positive attributes: plenty of cash, growing sales and earnings, and a dividend.

General Electric (GE): This stock has been a frustration for years. It cut the dividend. The price went from $38 a share to $8 from 2008 to 2009. Now it's coming back. The latest quarterly and annual reports for 2010 confirm the company's finally seeing better demand for most of its products and services.

GE mirrors the economy because it's in so many different parts of it. Here are only some of its offerings: jet engines, light bulbs, credit, mortgage finance, appliances, power plants, locomotives, electric distribution and control equipment, generators and turbines, real estate, commercial finance, aircraft leasing, NBC Universal, health care and several more. When the economy does well, so does GE.

"MIPS Technologies (MIPS) fell sharply after announcing its quarterly results; nevertheless, we think the long-term bullish thesis is intact," says tech sector specialist Paul McWilliams.

The editor of Next Inning explains, "It appears that Wall Street is focusing on slicing and dicing pennies rather than taking time to understand the story. Here's our assessment.

What we want from MIPS are license deals in its focus market (it signed three new licenses in the mobile sector last quarter), increasing unit royalties (it reported royalty on a record 173M units, up from 157M last quarter and 126M one year ago).

So, in my earnings preview for Microsoft Corporation's (MSFT) latest quarterly report, I mentioned that I was excited to see the numbers. More importantly, I was eager to see how the market would react to the news. Well, the numbers, as well as the reaction, are here. And although my curiosity has been satisfied, my desire for a sustained rally has gone unfulfilled (yes, I am a shareholder of the company).

At the time of this writing, Microsoft is down 0.4% to $28.75 in the extended-hours trading period. The fiscal second-quarter release, posted near the end of the regular session, did cause a little action in the shares, as this item over at The Wall Street Journal indicates. But it was short-lived.

Google (GOOG) gave investors some Q4 numbers to digest after the bell on Thursday, but that news may have been overshadowed by a surprise change in management. As I'm sure everyone has heard by now, Larry Page will be taking over CEO duties from Eric Schmidt.

But let's have a look at the numbers anyway. On a reported basis, the search-engine business made $7.81 a share, good for a 27% year-over-year growth rate. On an adjusted basis, per-share profit came out to $8.75, comfortably ahead of the $8.06 projected by Wall Street. The top line also put in a strong showing.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) issued its Q4 report after the bell today. At the time of this writing, shares were up 2.4% to $154.25 on the news in the extended-hours session. So, is IBM a buy at this point? After all, that quote means that the stock has now gone beyond the new 52-week high of $151.47 that was set earlier in the intraday session.

You know, buying high can be scary and ill-advised. Still, I like IBM's prospects. According to the Associated Press, earnings of $4.24 per share went beyond the overall prediction by sixteen pennies. Net sales also impressed.