By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc. and EMC Corp. ended
the day with solid gains Wednesday, but big losses by Broadcom
Corp. helped drag on much of the chip sector and dampened investor
enthusiasm.
Apple (AAPL) rose more than 5%, to close at $440.51 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) also had a good day, as the data-storage technology
company's stock climbed 5.6% to close at $26.75.
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 16.7% to finish the day at $83.20 after
the company reported upbeat second-quarter results late
Tuesday.
Videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) saw its shares
rise 6.7% to close at $25.41 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 added 38 cents, or 1.5%, to close at
$26.51, ahead of the social-networking company's second-quarter
results, due after the close of trading.
Dell Inc. (DELL) shares ended up rising by 3 cents, to close at
$12.91. 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.
But a number of decliners also garnered attention from
investors.
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) paced those tech stocks in the red, as its
shares fell more than 15% to $27.01. 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) rose less than one point to close
at 3,579.
Polycom Inc. (PLCM) also had a rough go of it, as its shares
shed 15%, to fall to $9.49.
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 3.6% to close
at $241.30, and online professional-services referral company
Angie's List Inc. (ANGI), which gave up 1.3% to close at $26.50
ahead of the company's quarterly results.
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