Wednesday Market Movers

Altera (NASDAQ: ALTR): Shares of Altera traded up on Wednesday after the company reported second quarter earnings that were down 24 percent, but that beat analyst estimates. The company earned $162.7 million, compared to $214.6 million in the same period last year. The board of director approved to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.02 to $0.10. The board also approved a share repurchase program for 10 million shares.

President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board John Daane commented, "New product revenue surged this quarter, as sales of both 28-nm and 40-nm accelerated strongly, driving the sharp revenue improvement from the prior quarter. Though growth was quite broad, the results in our Telecom and Wireless vertical market were particularly notable."

Altera traded up about 17.5 percent on Wednesday.

Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC): Symantec reported first quarter earnings for the fiscal year 2013 on Wednesday morning. The company announced first quarter revenues of $1.668 million, up 1 percent from last year, and up 4 percent after adjusting for currency. The company also replaced its CEO, Steve Bennett, claiming that the company has underperformed.

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer James Beer stated, “We delivered record June quarter revenue and deferred revenue, as well as growth in earnings per share despite an 11 percent foreign currency headwind. We saw strength in endpoint protection, consumer security, authentication services, data loss prevention, and backup appliances.”

Symantec traded up about 17 percent on Wednesday.

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT): Caterpillar traded up on Tuesday after reporting second quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates and increased its revenue by 67 percent. The company attributed the large gain to growing demand for construction and mining equipment. The company earned $2.54 per share in the second quarter, compared to $1.52 per share a year ago. The company also increased its full year outlook.

Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman stated, "I am very pleased with Caterpillar's record-breaking performance in the second quarter. Our employees, dealers and suppliers across the globe are doing a superb job of executing our strategy. They have helped deliver the highest level of financial performance for any quarter in our history for our stockholders and outstanding value for our customers."

Caterpillar traded up about 2.5 percent on Wednesday.