After the Bell- Qualcomm up, helps techs; Tenet sinks

Reuters, 11.07.02, 5:49 AM ET

By Haitham Haddadin

NEW YORK, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Shares of Qualcomm Inc. (nasdaq: QCOM - news - people) rose in after-hours trade on Thursday, helping other technology issues, after the wireless technology company swung to a quarterly net profit and raised its outlook.

Shares of Qualcomm rose to $36.04 on the Instinet electronic trading system from a close of $34.94 on the Nasdaq. Qualcomm, which issued its results after the closing bell, beat Wall Street estimates on a pro-forma basis.

But shares of Tenet Healthcare Corp. (nyse: THC - news - people) sank to $19.50 in the aftermarket from a close of $27.95 in very active trade.

The No. 2 U.S. hospital operator -- battered by a nurses' strike, a federal probe and a tanking stock price in recent weeks -- said its chief operating officer retired after 17 years with the company and its chief financial officer resigned after two years in the position.

Tenet's stock price has tumbled more than 46 percent over the past two weeks. In addition to the concerns about the Medicare "outlier" payments, the company is also facing a nurses' strike at a San Francisco area hospital and a Federal Trade Commission probe of a hospital merger.