By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The tech sector slumped by midday
trades Thursday, weighed down by declines at Facebook Inc. and the
company now known as BlackBerry despite an uplift from earnings
rallies on stocks such as Qualcomm Inc.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) was last down a fraction at 3,141
while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) slipped 0.2% and
the Morgan Stanley High-Tech Index (MSH) also slipped by 0.2%.
Facebook (FB) slipped nearly 2% to $30.72 -- though was down as
much as 6% earlier. Several brokers downgraded the stock following
the social network's fourth-quarter results, which included a
forecast for heavy spending in 2013.
"With our earnings model totally recalibrating, it is time to
take some profits and evaluate the likelihood of potential earnings
upside in future quarters," Jordan Rohan of Stifel Nicolaus wrote
as he cut his rating on the social network to hold from buy,
leaving his $31 price target intact.
BlackBerry, which still trades under the name Research In Motion
(RIMM) , slid nearly 5% to $12.76. Credit Suisse downgraded the
stock to underperform, a day after the company unveiled a new line
of smartphones for its BlackBerry 10 operating system that will
launch next month.
"Despite recent enthusiasm for RIM's new BB10 devices, we see
limited scope for traction in the hypercompetitive smartphone
market," wrote Kulbinder Garcha of Credit Suisse in a note to
clients.
Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) fell nearly 7% to
$12.16 after the company announced that it will release "Grand
Theft Auto V" on Sept. 17. The launch of the highly anticipated
sequel to the best-selling urban action franchise comes later in
the year than the original planned spring release, "in order to
allow additional development time," the company said in a
statement. The title will be available for the Xbox 360 and
PlayStation 3 consoles.
GameStop (GME) shares slid more than 3% on the news. Publisher
Electronic Arts (EA) moved up nearly 3%. The later release of GTAV
may put the title against greater competition in the busy holiday
selling season.
Fusion-io Inc. (FIO) fell more than 16% after its own quarterly
report that included a downbeat forecast that the company blamed on
slowing orders from major customers such as Apple (AAPL) and
Facebook. At least three brokers downgraded the stock following the
results.
Qualcomm (QCOM) shares jumped nearly 5% after the maker of
wireless device chips delivered better-than-expected results and a
positive forecast. Several analysts raised their price targets on
the stock following the report.
Citrix Systems (CTXS) jumped more than 10% after the enterprise
software maker reported a gain in earnings and issued a forecast
that beat Wall Street's expectations. The stock was upgraded to a
buy rating at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.
JDS Uniphase (JDSUD) shares jumped more than 16% following the
company's results, which topped Wall Street's projections. Needham
& Co. upgraded the stock to a buy rating.
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