By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The back-and-forth over Dell
Inc.'s proposed plans to go private claimed some of the attention
of the tech sector Monday following the latest moves by activist
investor Carl Icahn.
Ichan said his Icahn Enterprises L.P. signed a confidentiality
agreement with Dell (DELL) and will begin reviewing confidential
information related to the PC maker's plans to go private in a deal
that values Dell at $13.65 a share, or $24.4 billion.
Icahn has said he believes Dell is worth more, and wants the
company to pay a $9-a-share dividend if the deal is voted down by
Dell's shareholders.
Dell's shares rose 1%, or 15 cents, to $14.30 Monday.
BlackBerry Inc. (RIMM) shares rose more than 6%, to $13.88 after
the company set a March 22 release date for its new Z10 smartphone.
The Z10 will cost $199 with a two-year contract with AT&T Inc.
(T).
Apple Inc. (AAPL) was off by 1.3%, at $426 a share. CLSA analyst
Avi Silver trimmed his rating on Apple's stock to outperform from
buy, and lowered his price target to $505 a share from $575. Silver
cited "weaker iPhone trends" for his new rating and price
target.
Google Inc. (GOOG) shares were up by $4.65, at $835.80. Before
the market opened, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney raised
his price target on Google's stock to $950 a share, from $840.
Mahaney also raised his price target on Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) to $24
a share from $22, mostly due to the rising value of Yahoo's stake
in Yahoo Japan. Yahoo shares shed 1% to trade at $22.71.
Among other tech stocks, gains came from Oracle Corp. (ORCL),
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Facebook Inc. (FB) and Priceline.com
Inc. (PCLN).
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) shed 8.6 points to slip to
3,235, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was down by
0.7%.
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