Eye On Stocks For Friday, Feb. 18

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Qwest Communications International (nyse: Q -  news  -  people ) said it intends to submit a modified offer to MCI (nasdaq: MCIP -  news  -  people ) despite the latter's intent to be acquired by Verizon Communications (nyse: VZ -  news  -  people ). In a letter to MCI's board of directors, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Qwest argued that its previous offer was "superior" to the Verizon deal and would likely be approved by federal regulators at least six months earlier. Qwest said MCI did not respond to its previous bid, submitted Feb. 11, according to the letter. MCI gained 4% in the extended hours session while Qwest shares were up 2.8%.

Nvidia (nasdaq: NVDA - news - people ) beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates and said 2004 was a "turning point" for the graphics chip firm. Shares surged 9% in after-hours trading. Nvidia announced quarterly profits of 27 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 22 cents. "2004 was a turning point for NVIDIA. We produced a record number of market-leading products and platform-changing initiatives, and set the stage for growth in the coming years," Nvidia said in a statement. The company had fourth-quarter sales of $566.5 million, a 20% increase on the year-ago period.

Intuit (nasdaq: INTU - news - people ) reported strong earnings in the second quarter and benefited from higher sales of its tax software. The company reported quarterly earnings, on a pro forma basis, of 82 cents per share, compared to the consensus earnings estimate of 76 cents. Intuit said second-quarter sales were $662.6 million, up 5% from the year-ago period. The stock was down slightly in the after market.

ValueClick (nasdaq: VCLK - news - people ) reported higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The Internet marketing firm announced quarterly income of 16 cents per share, handily beating the Street estimate of 10 cents per share. ValueClick had sales of $54 million in the quarter, compared to the Street forecast of $47 million. Earlier this week, Piper Jaffray said ValueClick shares "remain attractive" and maintained an "outperform" rating and $16 target price. The stock gained nearly 5% in extended hours trading.

The New York Times (nyse: NYT - news - people ) announced it was acquiring About.com from Primedia (nyse: PRM - news - people ) for $410 million in cash. The deal is expected to be finalized by the start of the second quarter. The New York Times purchase of the consumer information Web site is comparable to Dow Jones (nyse: DJ - news - people ) $528 million acquisition of Marketwatch.com, which closed late last month. Yesterday, Banc of America Securities upgraded Dow Jones to "buy" from "neutral" based on "our anticipation of a recovery in both the tech and financial categories beginning later this spring. The research firm added, "While both categories have had several head fakes over past couple of years, we think enough demand in both will emerge over the next few months to drive the stock higher."