Stocks to Watch: BlackBerry, Oracle, Kroger are stocks to watch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday’s session are BlackBerry Ltd., Oracle Corp., and Kroger Co.

BlackBerry

US:BBRY

BB, -4.23%

is projected to report a loss of 27 cents a share in the first quarter, according to a consensus survey by FactSet. The Canadian smartphone company on Wednesday announced a partnership with Amazon.com Inc.

AMZN, -5.09%

to access Amazon’s Appstore to provide more games, apps and music to BlackBerry users.

Oracle

ORCL, -3.17%

is forecast to post fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 95 cents a share. Analysts at Wedbush reiterated the stock’s neutral rating and target price of $40 on Wednesday. “At current levels,we see ORCL as fairly valued, with upside and downside risks roughly balanced,” analyst Steve Koenig said in his report.

Kroger

KR, +1.06%

is expected to report first-quarter earnings of $1.05 a share.

Rite-Aid Corp.

RAD, -2.48%

is likely to report first-quarter earnings of 4 cents a share.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.

US:SWHC

is projected to post earnings of 39 cents a share in the fourth quarter.

Pier 1 Imports Inc.

PIR, -0.65%

is likely to post earnings of 20 cents a share in the fourth quarter.

After Wednesday’s closing bell, Jabil Circuit Inc.

JBL, -3.36%

reported third-quarter earnings rose to $188.3 million, or 93 cents a share, from $50.1 million, or 24 cents a share, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, Jabil earned 6 cents a share, beating analysts’ average estimate of 9 cents a share loss. Jabil shares came off of earlier highs to trade up 1.6%. Shares of Jabil rose 1.5% in after-hours trading.

Red Hat Inc.

RHT, -0.08%

shares gained 3.6% in after hours after the software company reported first-quarter earnings of $37.8 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with $40.4 million, or 21 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding charges, it earned 34 cents a share, slightly ahead of analysts’ forecast of 33 cents a share.