Costco, Disney, Kraft, MetLife, Rambus: U.S. Equity

By Cordell Eddings

Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies may have unusual fluctuations in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are as of 8:20 a.m. in New York, unless specified otherwise.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST US) fell 6.8 percent $43. The largest U.S. warehouse-club chain said profit will be “substantially below” analysts’ estimates after the company cut prices to keep customers as the recession deepens. Earnings per share for the fiscal second quarter will miss the First Call consensus estimate of 70 cents, Costco said.

Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS US) gained 3.9 percent to $16.10. The world’s second-largest maker of video games accelerated plans to cut costs, adding 100 new job reductions to the 1,000 previously announced and saying it will trim fiscal 2010 operating costs by $500 million.

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT US) fell 10 percent to $25.75. The world’s second-largest foodmaker reported fourth-quarter profit dropped 72 percent on restructuring costs and said 2009 earnings will be less than its previous forecast because of the stronger dollar. Excluding the restructuring and asset writedowns, earnings of 43 cents a share missed analysts’ projections by 1 cent, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

MetLife Inc. (MET US) added 1.1 percent to $28.82. The largest U.S. life insurer reported fourth-quarter profit, excluding some investment results, of 19 cents a share, six cents better than the average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Rambus Inc. (RMBS US) fell 21 percent to $7.11. The California trial of the company’s patent lawsuit against memory- chip makers will be delayed because of a Delaware ruling against the designer and licensor of chips, a federal judge ruled.

Travelzoo Inc. (TZOO US): The Internet travel marketer reported a fourth-quarter loss of 1 cent a share, narrower than the 11-cent average loss estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Vascular Solutions Inc. (VASC US): The medical-device maker forecast first-quarter profit of as little as 5 cents a share, or 44 percent less than FTN Midwest Securities analyst Christopher Cooley’s estimate.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS US) fell 6.2 percent to $19.35. The second-largest U.S. media company reported first-quarter sales and profit that missed analysts’ estimates because of flagging ad sales and consumer spending.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cordell Eddings in New York at ceddings@bloomberg.net.