By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of BlackBerry Inc.
rallied, then slipped into the red Friday after the beleaguered
company reported a loss that was narrower than expected, but the
mobile tech firm's sales were below expectations.
BlackBerry (RIMM) early Friday reported an adjusted loss of 8
cents a share, compared to a consensus estimate of 56 cents a
share, according to data from FactSet. However, BlackBerry reported
revenue of $976 million, below Wall Street's projection for sales
of $1.11 billion.
BlackBerry jumped early Friday after the company reported. But
the stock turned negative, and was last trading down nearly 2% to
$8.90.
"Short interest had ticked up in front of the print so it's
reasonable that covering was part of the buying," BGC Partners
analyst Colin Gillis told MarketWatch.
About 22% of BlackBerry's share float was in the hands of
short-sellers, up sharply from the beginning of February, according
to data from FactSet.
While BlackBerry beat expectations on its adjusted loss, the
company's revenue was "disastrous," underscoring the company's
challenges in a shifting market, Gillis added.
But the tech sector managed to stay in the green. The Nasdaq
Composite Index (RIXF) gained nearly 1% to 4,182. The benchmark was
still on track to end the week in the red.
The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was up 1.2%, while
the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) shed 1%.
Among the top gainers was 2U Inc. (TWOU), which recovered from a
wobbly start and was last trading up 7% as the cloud-based
education platform company began trading on the Nasdaq Global
Market. 2U priced its initial public offering at $13, the high end
of its range of $11 to $13.
On the other hand, shares of Aerohive Networks (HIVE), a
wireless networking firm, dropped more than 6% to $9.30 in its
trading debut. The company priced its IPO at $10, the midpoint of
its range of $9 to $11.
Still, the tech sector got a lift from major tech issues.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) was up 1%, while Google (GOOG) gained 1.3%
and Cisco Systems (CSCO) added 2%.
More news from MarketWatch:
Shut up already! It's not 1929
Zuckerberg says drones, lasers will help Facebook bring the
world online
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires