By Rex Crum
Tech stocks slumped in Thursday in a session highlighted by
declines from the likes of Nvidia Corp., Akamai Technologies Inc.
and Symantec Corp.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell almost 13 points to
2,251. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) shed almost 2%
and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also closed in the
red.
Nvidia (NVDA) was one of the most-notable decliners, falling $1
a share, or almost 10%, to $9.13 after the graphics chip maker
slashed its second-quarter revenue forecast late Wednesday. Nvidia
now expects to report sales of $800 million to $820 million, down
from its prior forecast of $950 million to $970 million in
revenue.
FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger cut his rating on
Nvidia's stock to market perform from outperform and also lowered
his price target on the company's stock to $10 a share from $18. In
a research note, Berger said one of the reasons for the downgrade
was that "Apple may expel Nvidia's chipsets from its PCs sooner
than expected."
Berger also cut his rating on Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)
to market perform from outperform, due to sector weakness and
execution issues at the No. 2 PC chip maker. AMD's shares fell 20
cents, or 2.5%, to $7.78.
Another FBR analyst, Daniel Ives, cut his rating on
security-software company Symantec (SYMC). Ives cited Symantec's
"soft June results and weak outlook," for the ratings cut. Late
Wednesday, Symantec reported an increase in its quarterly earnings,
but gave a forecast that disappointed Wall Street analysts.
Symantec's shares gave up $1.64, or more than 11%, to slide to
$13.03.
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) fell $5.68 a share, or almost
13%, to $38.35 after the company reported second-quarter results
late Wednesday that were in line with expectations, but failed to
raised its third-quarter estimates above analysts' prior
forecasts.
Chip maker LSI Corp. (LSI) also had a rough day. The company's
shares fell 66 cents, or almost 14%, to $4.08 after LSI on
Wednesday reported second-quarter profit, but gave a
weaker-than-expected third-quarter forecast.
Motorola Inc. (MOT) fell 7 cents to close at $7.61 after the
mobile-communications company reported a sharp increase in its
second-quarter earnings before the market opened.
Other losses came from Broadcom Corp. (BRCM), Intel Corp.
(INTC), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Despite the broad losses, some sector leaders managed to eke out
small gains.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) rose 8 cents a share at $26.03 as the
company held its annual analyst day meeting at its Redmond, Wash.
headquarters.
Business-software company Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) surged by
$9.34 a share, or more than 19%, to $56.67 following the company's
strong second-quarter results and upbeat outlook. Robert W. Baird
analyst Steven Ashley raised his rating on Citrix's stock to
outperform, or buy, following the company's report.
Sony Corp. (SNE) shares climbed $2.34, or 8%, to close at $31.90
after the consumer-electronics and entertainment company reported a
first-quarter profit, turning around from a loss in the same period
a year ago.