By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks put in a mildly
upbeat performance Monday, as the latest events in the saga
involving the efforts to take Dell Inc. private gained attention
among investors.
Dell (DELL) shares rose 7 cents to close at $13.52 after the PC
company asked activist investor Carl Icahn, and Southeastern Asset
Management Inc., to provide more information about Icahn's
alternative takeover proposal. Last Week, Icahn and Southeastern
offered up a proposal that would give Dell shareholders an option
to retain holding stock in Dell and take an additional $12 a share
in cash and stock.
Dell has said it isn't sure if Ichan's offer is an "actual
acquisition proposal" or an alternative in the event that the
current $24.4 billion deal to sell Dell to Silver Lake Partners and
company founder Michael Dell isn't approved.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) edged up by 17 cents a share to close
at $21.27. Before the market opened, FBR Capital Markets analyst
Scott Thompson raised his rating on the networking-equipment
company to market perform, or neutral, from underperform.
Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) shares shed 1.6%, to close at $26.39.
Macquarie Equities Research analyst Ben Schachter raised his target
price on Yahoo's stock to $30 a share from $27, based largely on
how much Yahoo could benefit from Alibaba potentially going public
later this year. Yahoo currently owns a 24% stake in Alibaba, one
of the largest Chinese Internet companies.
Among other leading tech stocks, losses came from
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and International
Business Machines Corp. (IBM).
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 2 points to close at
3,438, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and the
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) were both in the red.
Gains came from Netflix Inc. (NFLX), which rose 5.4% to $229.38,
as well as Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Advanced
Micro Devices Inc. (AMD).
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