By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks began to show some
signs of weakness Tuesday, even as sector bellwether
Hewlett-Packard Co. rose following a pair of upbeat assessments
from industry analysts.
H-P (HPQ) shares rose 2.3% to $27.34 after Citigroup analyst Jim
Suva added the computer-industry giant to his U.S. Focus List. Suva
said in a research note that there are many "positive catalysts"
for H-P's stock, including a growing belief the company will beat
quarterly earnings estimates next week.
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty also put out an upbeat
research report on H-P, saying there are signs the company is set
to benefit from improving demand in the U.S. corporate technology
market.
Along with H-P, gains also came from Apple Inc. (AAPL), eBay
Inc. (EBAY)., Pandora Media Inc. (P) and BlackBerry Ltd. (RIMM).
See: Apple-heavy ETF primed for a potential breakout: analyst.
BlackBerry shares rose another 8% Tuesday, to $11.65, adding to
Monday's gain of 10%. The company said Monday it's exploring
various strategic options, include a possible sale.
However, the broad tech sector was in the red, with the
tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) falling 11 points to
3,658.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was among the decliners, down 1% at
$32.33.
Brad Reback, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, cut his rating on
Microsoft to hold from buy, saying in a research note that the
company is facing headwinds in its Windows business that are "too
much to ignore at current levels." Reback also took off his
$36-a-share price target on Microsoft's stock.
Declines also came from Groupon Inc. (GRPN), which shed 2.7% to
trade at $10.30, and Facebook Inc. (FB), off by 2.3% at $37.34.
Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (OWW) gave up 12% to
fall to $10.34 a share. Orbitz said its largest shareholder, PAR
Capital Management, sold 8.1 million of its Orbitz shares -- or
about one-third of the 24.6 million shares PAR owned.
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