By Rex Crum
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Upbeat reactions to earnings
reports from Broadcom Corp., JDA Software Group Inc. and Compellent
Technologies Inc. placed the companies' shares in the tech-sector
spotlight in a mixed session Wednesday.
But it was fresh swipe by Oracle's chief executive at
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s new CEO that grabbed most of the attention as
the drama between the tech rivals heated up.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 12.6 points to 2,485.
However, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 1.7%, led
by gains from Broadcom on the heels of the communication
chipmaker's third-quarter financial results.
On the upside, Broadcom shares rallied $3.55, or 9.6%, to $40.78
as the company's third-quarter earnings rose almost four times from
a year ago. Broadcom also gave a strong fourth-quarter
forecast.
Compellent (CML) shares surged by $4.90, or more than 25%, to
$24.65 after the data-storage technology company posted
third-quarter earnings that rose 47% from a year ago. Piper Jaffray
raised its rating on Compellent to overweight following the
company's report.
RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) climbed 80 cents, or more than 12%,
to $7.17 after the company reported better-than-expected
second-quarter results late Tuesday.
JDA Software (JDAS) shares rose $3.34, or more than 15%, to
$25.49. Late Tuesday, the supply-chain management software company
reported a third-quarter profit of $8.3 million, or 20 cents a
share, on $158.4 million in sales, a reversal after having posted a
loss in the same period a year ago.
Router and wireless-networking equipment company Netgear Inc.
(NTGR) saw its shares rise $3.01, or more than 10%, to $31.27 after
reporting upbeat third-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
Chip-equipment maker FormFactor Inc. (FORM) shares traded up by
84 cents, or 10%, to $9.19 following third-quarter results in which
it lost 55 cents a share on $47.3 million in sales. The results
were slightly better than analysts' forecasts.
Silicon Image Inc. (SIMGE) shares surged $1.44, or more than
31%, to $5.97 after the chipmaker reported late Tuesday a
third-quarter profit of $9.5 million, or 12 cents a share, on $60.5
million in sales. During the year-ago period, Silicon Image lost
$15.5 million, or 21 cents a share.
Impending courtroom drama
Away from the double-digit percentage moves, it was the swipes
that Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison took at the new brass at H-P (HPQ)
-- CEO Leo Apotheker and Chairman Ray Lane -- that had the market
talking.
A trial is scheduled for Nov. 1 in a software lawsuit between
Oracle (ORCL) and SAP AG (SAP),where Apotheker had served as CEO
until earlier this year. The trial centers around how much SAP
should pay in damages for stealing Oracle's software a few years
ago.
Ellison said that "a majority of this theft occurred while Mr.
Apotheker was CEO of SAP," and that Oracle intends to present
evidence of Apotheker's involvement when the trial begins in
federal court in Oakland, Calif.
In his statement, Ellison added that he expects Lane, a former
company president at Oracle, to keep Apotheker "far, far away from
the courthouse until this trial is over."
U.S.-listed shares of SAP traded off by $3.05, or 5.7%, at
$51.03, following lackluster results and outlook issued by the
German company.
Oracle shares fell 12 cents to $28.50, while H-P gave up 87cents
to trade at $42.07.
Also among the decliners was Molex Inc. (MOLX), shares of which
fell $1.72, or 7.6%, to $20.83. The selling came after the maker of
electronic connector products gave a weaker-than-expected forecast
for the second quarter ending in December.
Other declines came from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Apple Inc.
(AAPL), IBM Corp. (IBM), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Google Inc.
(GOOG).