By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Microsoft Corp. shares led gains
in the tech sector Friday, but big losses from the likes of
Amazon.com Inc. and Pandora Media Inc. managed to leave a cloud
hanging over the sector as trading progressed.
Microsoft (MSFT) edged up by almost 2% to $45.82 a share. On
Thursday, Microsoft reported a fiscal first-quarter profit of 54
cents a share on $23.2 billion in sales, which topped analysts
forecasts for a profit of 49 cents a share and revenue of $22
billion. Many analysts said the results are validating Chief
Executive Satya Nadella's focus on cloud-computing strategies for
Microsoft.
"The company laid out a strategy to become a more cloud focused
and efficiently run company," said Keith Weiss. "[The]
first-quarter results represent a positive indicator in Microsoft's
ability to execute to that plan."
With Microsoft getting a lot of attention from investors, and
Apple Inc. (AAPL) reaching a 52-week-high of $105.49, the Nasdaq
Composite Index (RIXF) rose 14 points to 4,466.
Still, big losses from Amazon (AMZN) made their presence
felt.
Amazon shares gave up 7% to fall to $291.76 after the online
retailer reported a third-quarter loss of 99 cents a share on
$20.58 billion in revenue, which fell short of analysts' forecast
for a loss of 76 cents a share on sales $20.8 billion. Amazon also
forecast fourth-quarter sales below Wall Street's expectations, and
investors began to show signs of fatigue with the company's failure
to maintain consistent profitability.
Touch-screen chip maker Synaptics Inc. (SYNA) fell by more than
12% to $64.19 a share. after the company said late Thursday that
its quarterly results were hurt by weaker-than-expected demand for
its products that are used in smartphones.
Pandora (P) fell by 13% to $20.15 after the online-radio company
reported a a third-quarter profit, excluding one-time items, of 9
cents a share on revenue of $239.6 million. Wall Street analysts
had forecast Pandora to earn 8 cents a share on $238.5 million in
sales. However, the growth in Pandora's listener hours fell a bit
shy of many analysts' estimates, leading to concerns about
competition the company is facing from music-streaming rivals.
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