Post Bell Buzz: Red Hat CRASHES 9.75%, JPMorgan and Oracle Surge

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed .28 percent lower on Wednesday and edged slightly lower in late trading. Samsung has won a 3G patent dispute against Apple in the Netherlands and is reportedly planning to seek compensation from the California company. Apple’s iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, the first-generation iPad, and iPad 2 were found to be infringing on Samsung’s European-held patent. The Korean company said in a statement that it would “recover adequate damages” from Apple and that the decision proves “that Apple makes free use of our technological innovations.”

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JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) shares climbed 3 percent higher during regular trading, making it the best performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Reports indicate that the recently strong financial markets have enabled the bank to rid itself of between 65 and 70 percent of its cash hemorrhaging London Whale position. In addition, the firm is poised to obtain a windfall from an investment in the London Metal Exchange (which itself was offered an eye-popping acquisition price last week from Hong Kong exchanges), that it grabbed in November from the bankrupt MF Global.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares edged higher in late trading, but closed almost 1 percent lower on Wednesday. Both Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) and Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) separately said they found value in Facebook advertising, giving the social networking site a big vote of confidence as it struggles to recover from a disastrous IPO.

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Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) shares bounced almost 2 percent during regular trading and then faded .18% after the closing bell. The company recently said it earned 82 cents per share for the fiscal fourth-quarter, excluding one-time items. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of about 78 cents. The results were announced three days earlier than expected. “Our record-breaking fourth quarter featured several all-time highs for Oracle: new software license sales of $4 billion, total software revenue of $8 billion, total revenue of $11 billion, and EPS of 82 cents,” said Oracle President and CFO, Safra Catz. “For the fiscal year, we also set all-time highs for operating margins of 46 percent, and operating cash flow of $13.7 billion.”

Shares of Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG) gained .18 percent in late trading, after falling 2.93 percent on Wednesday. The world’s largest consumer-goods company cut its earnings and revenue estimates for the second time in two months, citing “market-share softness in developed regions.” The company expects its earnings per share for the April-to-June quarter to be in the range of 75 to 79 cents, down from a previously expected range of 79 to 85 cents.

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE:RHT) shares plummeted 9.75 percent in the after-hours. The company reported a fiscal first-quarter profit of $37.5 million (19 cents per share), compared to $32.5 million (17 cents per share) a year earlier. However, Red Hat reported billings of $310 million for the quarter, below estimates of $319 million.

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