By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Akamai Technologies
Inc. tumbled Thursday, after the company issued a muted forecast,
but the tech sector rallied to push the Nasdaq Composite Index into
positive territory.
Akamai (AKAM) fell 14.7% to close at $34.94, the leading
decliner on the S&P 500 Index.
However, the S&P 500 (SPX) rose 0.4% to close at 1,360, ,
thanks to gains in shares of Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) which
jumped 9.7% to close at $85.37 after the
information-technology-services company reported upbeat results.
Citrix was one of the S&P 500's top gainers.
"Guidance appears conservative and we see upside to estimates in
the second half of 2011," said Lazard Capital Markets analyst Joel
Fishbein said in a note. "Customer activity and pipeline are at
record levels, and Citrix continues to have good momentum on the
back of strong execution."
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) edged higher by 0.1% to close
at 2,873. But the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was down
0.4%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) slid
0.7%.
The tech sector also took a hit from shares of Teradyne Inc.
(TER), which were down 12.4% to close at $16.03 a day after the
electronic production equipment maker reported a jump in quarterly
profit, but issued a weaker-than-expected forecast.