By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks started out August on
an upbeat note Thursday, with big gains coming from Yelp Inc. after
the provider of online local-business reviews reported
better-than-expected quarterly results.
Yelp's (YELP) shares rose more than 23% to $51.35 as three Wall
Street analysts raised their rating on the company following its
second-quarter report late Wednesday. Yelp said it lost $878,000,
or a penny a share, on revenue of $55 million for the quarter ended
June 30. During the same period a year ago, Yelp lost $2 million,
or 3 cents a share, on $32.7 million in sales.
The company's results topped the estimates of analysts surveyed
by FactSet, who had forecast Yelp to lose 4 cents a share on sales
of $53.3 million. Yelp attributed its business performance to gains
in usage and advertising from mobile devices.
J.P. Morgan analyst Kaizad Gotla said Yelp's results showed
"there's still significant room for strong revenue growth and
margin expansion. We think the pace of innovation in new
advertising products is accelerating."
Gotla raised his rating on Yelp to overweight from neutral.
Additionally, Wunderlich Securities analyst Blake Harper lifted his
rating on Yelp to buy from hold, and Darren Afthai, of Northland
Capital Markets, raised his take on Yelp to outperform from market
perform.
With Yelp in the lead, the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 38
points to 3,664. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and the
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) were both up 1%.
Other notable gainers included Trulia Inc. (TRLA), which rose
almost 19%, to $44.28 a share after the online real-estate
information site posted upbeat quarterly results late
Wednesday.
Teradyne Corp. (TDC) shares rose more than 8% to $64.14 after
the chip-equipment company reported better-than-expected quarterly
results following Wednesday's market close.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares rose $2.40 to $455.03. Jefferies &
Co. analyst Peter Misek raised his price target on Apple's stock to
$450 a share from $405, adding that he sees a "floor" coming
regarding iPhone shipments.
Dell Inc. (DELL) rose 1.5%, to $12.85 a share, a day ahead of a
special stockholder meeting on Chief Executive Michael Dell's
proposal to take the PC company private in a deal valued at more
than $24 billion.
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shares were up by 1%, at $246.90. On
Thursday, the company began rolling out a new feature that lets its
subscribers create separate viewing profiles for different
household members.
LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) shares rose 3% to $209.98 ahead of the
online professional-networking company's quarterly results, due
after the market close.
Pandora Media Inc. (P) shares climbed more than 4% to $19.20.
Earlier Thursday, the holding company that runs Pandora rival
Spotify said its revenue more than doubled in 2012, but its loss
expanded to the equivalent of $77.7 million from $60 million in
2011.
Other gains came from Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), IBM Corp. (IBM)
and Google Inc. (GOOG).
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) failed to join in the gains, as its
shares dipped by $2 to $299.20. Bernstein Research analyst Carlos
Kirjner raised his price target on Amazon's stock to $375 a share
from $350, after estimating the company has 25 million Amazon Prime
members. Amazon has never disclosed the number of its Prime
memberships.
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