By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc. and EMC Corp.
continued to stand out among tech advancers in late trading
Wednesday, but losses by Broadcom Corp. helped drag on much of the
chip sector heading toward the close of trading.
Apple (AAPL) was up by almost 6%, at $443.78 a share, after the
company reported fiscal third-quarter results late Tuesday that
included iPhone sales of 31.2 million units. Those sales topped the
range of estimates by Wall Street analysts that follow Apple.
The iPhone sales helped counter a decline in profit, as Apple
said its earnings for the quarter ended June 29 fell to $6.9
billion, or $7.47 a share, from $8.8 billion, or $9.32 a share, in
the year-ago period.
EMC (EMC) was also having a good day, as the data-storage
technology company's stock climbed almost 6% to $26.78.
Before the market opened, EMC reported earnings, excluding
one-time items, of 42 cents a share, and revenue of $5.61 billion,
which met analysts' consensus forecasts. EMC said its results were
helped by growth at VMware Inc. (VMW), which is majority owned by
EMC
VMware shares climbed 17% to $83.41 after the company reported
upbeat second-quarter results late Tuesday.
Videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) shares rose more
than 8% to $25.81 following its late-Tuesday earnings report. EA
said lower expenses and more mobile and digital revenue helped its
fiscal first-quarter earnings rise 10% from a year ago.
Facebook Inc. (FB) shares edged up by 12 cents, to $26.25, ahead
of the social-networking company's second-quarter results, due
after the close of trading.
But a number of decliners were also garnering attention from
investors.
Dell Inc. (DELL) shares gave up 7 cents, to trade at $12.81.
Before the market opened, Dell Chief Executive Michael Dell raised
his bid to take the computer company private to $13.75 a share from
$13.65. Dell is being assisted by private-equity firm Silver Lake,
and a shareholder vote on the offer was postponed from Wednesday to
Aug. 2.
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) continued to pace those stocks in the red,
as its shares fell 14.5% to $27.22. On Tuesday, Broadcom reported a
second-quarter loss and said it took a charge of $501 million and
wrote down the value of its 2012 purchase of NetLogic
Microsystems.
Analysts at B. Riley & Co. and RBC Capital Markets also cut
their ratings on Broadcom.
Led by Broadcom, other chip stocks such as SanDisk Corp. (SNDK),
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) also
retreated.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) shed almost 2%, while
the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) clung to a gain of less than one
point and was at 3,579.
Polycom Inc. (PLCM) was also having a rough go of it, as its
shares shed more than 14%, to fall to $9.57.
Late Tuesday, Polycom said Chief Executive Andrea Miller
resigned from the videoconferencing technology company due to
"irregularities" that Polycom's board found in Miller's expense
reports. Polycom said Miller had resigned Friday, and Kevin Parker,
Polycom's board chairman, was named interim CEO.
Miller's resignation was announced the same day Polycom reported
a decline in its second-quarter earnings and sales.
Other declines came from Netflix Inc. (NFLX), down 3% at
$242.64, and online professional-services referral company Angie's
List Inc. (ANGI), which gave up almost 2% to trade at $26.35 a
share.
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