Apple, Netflix, Symantec: Tech Premarket

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Apple(AAPL) was a loser in premarket trading on Wednesday as investors responded to the tech giant's third-quarter results, released after market close on Tuesday.

The iPhone maker's shares fell 4.66% to $572.89 after Apple missed analysts' top- and bottom-line estimates. The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm also offered weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter guidance.

Speaking during the conference call to discuss the results, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer cited a number of reasons for the revenue and earnings miss, including economic weakness in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil.

With the eagerly anticipated iPhone 5 expected to debut in September or October, the tech giant clearly experienced a lull in iPhone sales during its third quarter.

Apple was also one of the most active premarket Nasdaq stocks on share volume of 576,420.

Netflix(NFLX) , however, was an even bigger loser, tumbling 18% to $65.81 after releasing its second-quarter results on Tuesday. While Netflix's second-quarter earnings beat expectations, investors balked at the company's weak outlook for the rest of the year.

Symantec(SYMC) , however, was a big gainer after announcing its first-quarter results and an executive reshuffle. The security specialist, which was scheduled to report its numbers after market close, posted revenue of $1.67 billion and earnings of 43 cents a share before market open, comfortably above analysts' forecast of $1.65 billion and 38 cents a share.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based firm also announced that CEO Enrique Salem has stepped down, to be replaced by Steve Bennett, the company's chairman.

Symantec shares climbed 7.78% to $14.20 before market open.

Riverbed(RVBD) was another major gainer following solid second-quarter results, which came in above analysts' expectations on Tuesday. The WAN optimization specialist also offered robust guidance, pushing the company's shares up 24.40% to $18.10.

Juniper(JNPR) was another winner following the company's strong second-quarter results, released on Tuesday, which topped both its own and Wall Street's expectations. The Cisco(CSCO) rival;s shares climbed 5.97% to $15.70 before market open.