Eye On Stocks For Wednesday, Feb. 23

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Autodesk (nasdaq: ADSK -  news  -  people ) announced solid fourth-quarter results, citing strong sales growth in software subscriptions and 3D products. The maker of design software reported pro forma earnings per share of 30 cents and revenue of $356 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expected the software firm to report quarterly earnings of 28 cents per share and sales of $344 million. Autodesk also issued first-quarter and 2006 earnings guidance above Street estimates. Shares were up slightly in after-hours trading.

Ciena (nasdaq: CIEN - news - people ) will announce first-quarter results tomorrow before the opening bell. The network equipment maker is expected to post a quarterly loss of 5 cents per share and sales of $89 million. In the year-ago quarter, Ciena had a loss of 8 cents per share on sales of $66 million. Earlier today, Credit Suisse First Boston expects Ciena shares to rally after the company's earnings report. "While we believe that Ciena's intermediate to long-term outlook remains clouded by the constrained outlook for capital expenditures and the continued intense competitive environment, we expect Ciena to report strong revenues ahead of our ($88.9 million) and Street consensus ($88.6 million) estimates for its January fiscal first quarter," CSFB said. "And while we are changing neither our 'neutral' rating nor estimates at this time, we also believe that similar to Ciena's preceding October fiscal fourth-quarter results, if Ciena posts the operating strength that we are expecting, Ciena's stock will likely appreciate following the reported results given the ongoing strong level of negative sentiment surrounding Ciena's shares."

Novell (nasdaq: NOVL - news - people ) beat first-quarter earnings estimates by a penny. The software maker reported quarterly earnings, on a non-GAAP basis, of 3 cents per share and revenue of $290 million, compared with analysts' forecasted earnings of 2 cents and revenue of $285 million. Shares fell more than 3% in extended trading.

Nextel Partners (nasdaq: NXTP - news - people ) will report fourth-quarter results tomorrow. The company is expected to report revenue of $372 million and earnings of 13 cents per share, compared with year-ago revenue of $296 million and a loss of 2 cents per share. The company operates under the Nextel brand name in rural markets not covered by Nextel Communications (nasdaq: NXTL - news - people ). Last month, Deutsche Bank Securities maintained a "hold" rating for Nextel Partners after the company pre-announced fourth-quarter results generally in-line with expectations. "In terms of market performance, we continue to expect that Nextel Partners shares will trade on expectations of completion of the Sprint/Nextel Communications merger and exercise of Nextel Partners' put option to Nextel Communications, rather than on fundamentals," it said. "We therefore believe shares will remain overvauled vs. our discounted cash flow-derived price target of $15 per share while there remains a realistic chance of a takeover by Nextel-Sprint."

Billionaire financier Carl Icahn filed a lawsuit against Mylan Laboratories (nyse: MYL - news - people ) in response to the company's recently announced changes to its corporate bylaws which requires shareholders to nominate directors by Feb. 28. "These amendments, in combination with a very late date for the annual meeting, represent a desperate attempt by the Mylan Board to entrench itself by weakening the processes for corporate democracy at Mylan," Icahn said in a statement. Icahn is Mylan's largest shareholder and has been a vehement opponent of the drug firm's proposed buyout of King Pharmaceuticals (nyse: KG - news - people ).