By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- An analyst's new upbeat view of
Amazon.com Inc. and an acquisition by touchscreen technology
company Synaptics Inc. highlighted activity in tech-sector trading
Wednesday.
Amazon (AMZN) rose almost 1% to close at $335.20, after Goldman
Sachs analyst Heath Terry added the company to his "conviction
list" and maintained his buy rating on the stock. Terry also raised
his price target on Amazon to $430 a share from $400. In a research
note, Terry said he believes Amazon's investments in its Web
Services business, Amazon Fresh delivery service and digital
hardware are "driving incremental growth and furthering Amazon's
high returns."
Synaptics (SYNA) shares climbed almost 29% to $85.78, after the
touchscreen technology company said it would acquire Renesas SP
Drivers for $475 million. Renesas makes semiconductors that are
used to power the touchscreens in tablets and smartphones.
Synaptics also used the acquisition as a reason to raise its
fiscal fourth-quarter sales outlook to between $300 million and
$310 million from a prior forecast of $275 million to $295 million.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast Synaptics to report sales
of $285.6 million for the quarter.
Online professional services referral company Angie's List Inc.
(ANGI) rose almost 8% to close at $12.39 a share. Before the market
opened, Wunderlich Securities analyst Blake Harper raised his
rating on Angie's List to buy from hold saying he expects the
company to show "improving sales productivity, traction with the
e-commerce marketplace, and the rollout of tiered pricing to all
markets."
Memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. (MU) rose 5% to end the
day at $30.99 after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analysts raised
their rating on the company to buy from underperform.
Gains also came from Pandora Media Inc. (P), Yahoo Inc. (YHOO),
eBay Inc. (EBAY) and Netflix Inc. (NFLX).
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) ended the day down by 6 points
at 4,331, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) managed
to edge its way into positive territory.
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