By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks were poised to close
mostly in the red on Friday, despite notable gains from Microsoft
Corp., Facebook Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) down 0.2% to at
3,781 while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) slid nearly
1%. The Dow was off more than 70 points near the closing bell.
Microsoft (MSFT) shares rose 1.5%, to $33.26 following a report
in the AllThingsD blog that Ford Motor Co. (F) Chief Executive Alan
Mulally is a top candidate to replace Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
In August, Ballmer said he would retire from Microsoft within a
year.
Yahoo (YHOO) climbed 2%, to $33.42, after the company threw its
weight behind the proposed partnership structure for the Chinese
e-commerce company as it prepares to hold an IPO valued at up to
$15 billion. Yahoo is the second-largest shareholder in Alibaba,
with a 24% stake in the company.
Eric Sheridan, of UBS, raised his price target on Yahoo to $37 a
share from $30. In a research note, Sheridan cited the potential
valuation of Alibaba after its IPO as the main reason for his
sentiment toward Yahoo's stock.
Facebook Inc. (FB) rose 1.5%, to $51.18. Sheridan, the UBS
analyst, raised his price target on Facebook's stock to $60 a share
from $45, saying that industry checks during Ad Week in New York
suggest "Facebook's momentum with advertisers has built" through
the third quarter.
Among other tech-sector leaders, small gains came from
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU).
(FB)Several tech companies that went public in the past two days
also garnered attention from investors.
RingCentral Inc. (RNG) shares soared more than 41%, to $18.35,
after the developer of cloud-based communications systems made its
public debut Friday. RingCentral priced 7.5 million shares at $13 a
share, which was at the high end of its pricing range of $11 to $13
a share.
Montage Technology Group Ltd. (MONT) climbed 25%, to $16 a
share, and added to its 28% gain from Thursday when the fabless
chip company started trading at $10 a share.
Covisint Corp. (COVS) was up more than 2%, at $12.60 a share. On
Thursday, the engagement-software company went public after pricing
6.4 million shares at $10 each.
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