Data General Cuts Profit Estimate; Stock Off $14.125

Data General Corp. stock, hurt by news of lower-than-expected earnings, plunged $14.125 a share to $58.75 Tuesday, leading a broad market retreat for computer issues.

Data General officials had disclosed before the market opened that anticipated second-quarter earnings would be “substantially below” the 95 cents a share widely projected by analysts. The company also said earnings might not exceed the year-ago quarter’s results of 55 cents a share.

Frederic Cohen, a New York analyst with L. F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin, called the market response “unwarranted.” He said economic conditions for computer companies are improving but not as rapidly as for other segments of the market.