By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks rallied Thursday, led
by gains from EMC Corp., as the storage-technology company
initiated its first dividend payment, and Facebook Inc., after a
Wall Street analyst raised his rating on the social-networking
giant.
EMC (EMC) shares climbed more than 5% to $24.98 after the
company said it would begin paying a quarterly dividend of 10 cents
a share. The first payment will be July 23 to shareholders of
record as of July 1.
Additionally, EMC announced a big increase in its stock
repurchase plan, going from $1 billion this year to $6 billion over
the three-year period ending Dec. 31, 2015. EMC said that under
this plan, it expects to repurchase $3.5 billion in stock by end of
the second quarter of 2014.
Facebook (FB) was on the rise, too, up 4.6% at $24.38. Before
the market opened, BMO Capital Markets analyst Daniel Salmon raised
his rating on Facebook to outperform, or the equivalent of buy,
from market perform. Salmon also edged up his price target on
Facebook's stock to $33 a share from $32.
In a research note, Salmon said that following checks with
advertising and tech industry contacts, "sentiment around Facebook
advertising remains quite positive, with emphasis on improved
customer service in particular." Salmon also said Facebook's shares
could see more gains from "the near-term catalyst of an upgraded
video advertising offering."
Another big percentage gainer was wireless network operator
Clearwire Corp. (CLWR), which saw its shares surge more than 21% to
$4.22.
Before the market opened, Dish Network Corp. (DISH) raised its
bid for Clearwire to $4.40 a share, which values the company at
$6.9 billion. Dish had previously offered $3.30 a share for
Clearwire. Dish's new bid also trumped Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (US-S)
$3.40-a-share offer to acquire the 50% of Clearwire that it doesn't
already own.
Online travel agency Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN) saw its shares
rise more than 2% to $810.99 after the company said late Wednesday
that it plans to offer $1 billion worth of seven-year convertible
bonds and repurchase another $1 billion of its stock.
Among other leading tech stocks, gains came form Apple Inc.
(AAPL), Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Cisco Systems Inc.
(CSCO) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).
The tech-sector gains helped lift the Nasdaq Composite Index
(RIXF) by almost 23 points to 3,490. The Philadelphia Semiconductor
Index (SOX) climbed 1.4% and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index
(MSH) added almost 1%.
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