U.S. HOT STOCK FUTURES: HOT STOCKS TO WATCH

Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Friday's session are Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. (JOSB), Aspen Technology Inc. (AZPN) and Nordstrom Inc. (JWN).

Men's retailer Jos. A. Bank expects fiscal second-quarter results will fall far short of expectations, as a highly promotional marketing campaign failed to resonate with consumers and led to a surprise sales decline. Shares dropped 9.1% to $40.09 in premarket trading.

Aspen Technology Inc. swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit as the company's sales of software and subscriptions jumped. Shares jumped 12% premarket to $35.53 as results beat Wall Street expectations.

Nordstrom Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 18% as the company pulled in more net sales. However, the high-end retailer's shares were down 3% to $57.55 premarket as the company cut its full-year guidance.

National Technical Systems Inc. (NTSC) has agreed to be taken private by private equity firm Aurora Capital Group for about $267 million in cash. Shareholders of National Technical Systems, a testing and engineering services company, will get a per-share price of $23, a roughly 39% premium over the company's Thursday close. Shares jumped 38% to $22.90 premarket.

E-House (China) Holdings Ltd. (EJ), a China-based real estate services company, swung to a fiscal second-quarter profit as the company logged a double-digit percentage rise in revenue, while also offering an upbeat view for the rest of the fiscal year. American depositary shares surged 20% to $7.61 in premarket trading.

Pixelworks Inc. (PXLW) is offering an undisclosed number of shares and plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes and funding of capital expenditures. The semiconductor company, which designs video- and pixel-processing chips, had 18.8 million shares outstanding as of July 31. Shares tumbled 12% to $3.72 premarket.

PowerSecure International Inc. (POWR) plans to offer about $44 million in shares, including 200,000 shares to be offered by Chief Executive Sidney Hinton. The provider of utility and energy technologies to electric utilities had 19.3 million shares outstanding as of Aug. 1 and a recent market capitalization of $350 million. Shares were down 5.7% at $15.95 premarket.

Universal Truckload Services Inc. (UACL) plans to offer 1 million shares, of which 975,000 are being offered by a stockholder and 25,000 are being offered by the transportation services company. The company had 30.1 million shares outstanding as of Aug. 2. Shares slid 7.3% to $23.55 premarket.

Mandalay Digital Group Inc. (MNDL) unveiled plans for a stock offering but didn't disclose how many shares it intends to sell. The company, which provides Internet-media content and mobile communication services, had 20.5 million shares outstanding as of Aug. 4. Shares tumbled 21% to $2.46 premarket.

 
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Applied Materials Inc.'s (AMAT) fiscal third-quarter earnings slid 23% as the semiconductor-equipment company's silicon systems and applied global services units posted lower revenue. Also, the company's board appointed President Gary E. Dickerson as its new chief executive, replacing Michael R. Splinter.

Bally Technologies Inc.'s (BYI) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 41% as the slot-machine maker's revenue benefited from growth in its gaming-operations and systems businesses that offset lower revenue in its gaming equipment category.

Dell Inc. (DELL) showed more evidence it is giving up today's earnings for a payoff in the future, when the computer maker is likely to be in private hands. The company on Thursday said net income for its fiscal second quarter dropped 72%, while revenue was essentially flat.

Write to Anna Prior at [e-mail]

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