By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The tech sector looked to end
July on an upbeat note Wednesday as Facebook Inc. shares surpassed
their IPO level of more than a year ago.
Facebook (FB) climbed as much as 68 cents, to reach $38.31 on
Wednesday and extend a run of gains that has seen the company's
stock climb more than 44% since it reported strong quarterly
results on July 24. It was the first time Facebook's stock rose
past the $38-a-share price it set when the company went public in
May 2012.
On Tuesday, Facebook said it is launching a new program to help
developers publish and promote mobile games over Facebook's
platform.
But even Facebook found the going a bit rough, as its shares
ended up dipping into the red before edging back up by 12 cents a
share to $37.75.
Dell Inc. (DELL) also stood out, as its shares fell more than 3%
to $12.44 a share. A special committee of Dell's board of directors
rejected a proposal supported by Chief Executive Michael Dell that
would change the voting standard for Dell's effort to take the PC
company private.
Michael Dell was trying to change the standard so that non-votes
on the privatization would not be counted. The current standard
treats non-votes the same as votes against the deal.
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) rose 7.7% to $26.22 a share. Late Tuesday,
the security-software company's reported fiscal first-quarter
results that exceeded Wall Street analysts' forecasts.
Videogame publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO)
was up almost 2% at $17.29 a share. The company reported upbeat
quarterly results on Tuesday and set a Sept. 17 release date for
its coming "Grand Theft Auto V" title.
Yelp Inc. (YELP) shed 2%, to fall to $40.94 a share. The online
local-recommendation company is scheduled to report quarterly
results after Wednesday's market close.
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) leapt almost 7%, at $39.78 a share after the
maker of personal-navigation devices reported better-than-expected
second-quarter results before the market open.
Intersil Corp. (ISIL) climbed 10%, to $10.17 a share, following
the power-management technology company's late-Tuesday quarterly
results. Nedham & Co. raised its rating on Intersil to buy from
hold on Wednesday.
Among other leading tech stocks, gains came from Hewlett-Packard
Co. (HPQ), Pandora Media Inc. (P), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)
Decliners included Apple Inc. (AAPL), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Yahoo
Inc. (YHOO) and Netflix Inc. (NFLX).
Riverbed Technology Inc. (RVBD) was one of the tech sector's
biggest percentage decliners, falling 12% to $15.42. The
computer-networking equipment maker said late Tuesday that it swung
to a second-quarter loss and reported revenue of $250 million,
which fell below analysts' forecasts.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 20 points to 3,636 and
the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was also on the
rise.
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