NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A financial loss followed by a strongly worded downgrade sent shares of a golf course operator plunging Friday, while two software companies soared in their debut.
In one of the session's steepest drops, shares of Family Golf Centers Inc. (FGCI) plummeted after the company late Thursday reported a net loss of $1.5 million, or 6 cents a share, for the second quarter.
On Friday, Prudential Securities negatively revised its rating on the golf course operator's stock, downgrading the company to a rare "sell" from "hold."
And sell they did. Shares in the Melville, N.Y., company plunged 2-21/32, or 69 percent, to 1-3/16.
In contrast, Quest Software Inc. (QSFT) stock soared in its first day of trading. After being priced at $14 per share, stock of the Newport, Calif.-based e-commerce software maker rose 32-3/8, or 231 percent, to 46-3/8.
Similarly, Active Software (ASWX) rose strongly in its debut. After pricing at $11 a share, stock in the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company rose 4-3/8, or 40 percent, to 15-3/8.
In one of the session's bigger free-falls, shares of Stewart Enterprises (STEI) sank after the nation's third-largest funeral home and cemetery operator warned of lower fourth-quarter earnings. Metairie, La.-based Stewart said it expects earnings per share of 17 cents to 19 cents in the quarter compared with 22 cents in the year-ago period.
In response, Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and Jeffries & Co. Friday downgraded the stock.
Stewart shares fell 3-1/2, or 35 percent, to 6-9/8. Nearly 19 million shares changed hands, making it the second-most traded Nasdaq stock.
Red Hat (RHAT), meanwhile, showed no signs of running out of stream. After gaining by triple digits in its IPO Wednesday and double digits Thursday, the distributor of the popular Linux operating systems continued its run.
Shares of Durham, N.C.-based Red Hat rose 12-3/8, or 17 percent, to 88 Friday morning.
ContiFinancial Corp (CFN), meanwhile, soared after the financial services company said it was getting a $500 million loan from Greenwich Capital Financial Products.
Stock in the New York-based ContiFinancial gained ¾, or 48 percent, to 2-5/16.
And shares of IntelliQuest Information Group (IQST) gained after the company said Thursday that Kantar Group will acquire the marketer for $42.5 million in cash.
Stock in the Austin, Texas-based company rose 1-1/2, or 16 percent, to 10-3/4.
But stock in Sabratek (SBTK) plunged after the company announced a delay in the release of its second-quarter results, pending completion of an audit.
The news scared investors, who dumped shares of the Skokie, Ill.-based maker of medical systems.
Sabratek stock fell 3-7/8, or 35 percent, to 7-1/8.
And shares of FirstCity Financial Corp. (FCFC) plunged after the company Friday reported a $43.9 million second-quarter loss. Houston-based FirstCity also said it is getting out of the mortgage business.
The company's stock fell 1-15/16, or 59 percent, to 2-13/16. 
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