By Rex Crum Amazon.com Inc. shares failed to hang onto earlier gains by the close of trading Monday, while Electronic Arts Inc. also had its sails trimmed as the tech sector got caught up in a broad-market retreat shortly before the market closed Monday. Amazon (AMZN) had been a standout after one analyst predicted greater opportunities for the company's Kindle, downplaying fears that Apple Inc.'s iPad had already made the electronic reader obsolete. However, Amazon's shares finished the session 56 cents lower to close at $116.83 EA (ERTS) shares just managed to start the week with a gain of 23 cents to close at $17.49 in advance of the company's third-quarter report. In January, EA gave a weaker-than-expected outlook for its 2010 fiscal year, saying it expects to lose between $1.94 and $2.04 a share. The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) finally ran out of steam, falling 15 points to close at 2,126. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) gave up almost 1% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) closed in the red. The tech sector felt the brunt of a general market retreat caused by fears about the global economy which derailed many financial stocks. Amazon upgrade Amazon got some positive reception from Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal, who on Monday raised his rating on Amazon's stock to buy from hold, mostly due to what he said are opportunities for the Kindle and the company's Amazon Web services offerings for businesses. Aggarwal also set a price target on Amazon's stock of $150 a share. Aggarwal said that competition from the likes of Apple's (AAPL) iPad is growing, and provided a challenge to the Kindle, which has been on the market for a little more than two years. However, Aggarwal believes the Kindle will remain a force in the market because "the e-book revolution is much bigger than we previously thought." "Competition for the Kindle is rising," Aggarwal said, noting that there are more than 45 e-book readers on the market. "[But] the market remains in early stage of development and Kindle is one of the most compelling e-readers." Aggarwal added that for this year, Amazon will ship 3.85 million Kindles, resulting in $2.5 billion in revenue, and will soon add color and touchscreeen function to future models. Amazon currently doesn't disclose how many Kindles it sells. Tech gainers Among tech bellwethers, Dell Inc. (DELL), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), and EMC Corp. (EMC) managed to eke out gains. But even stocks that got some positive news on the day found the going rough. RightNow Technologies Inc. (RNOW) shares shed 10 cents to close at $14.91 after Robert W. Baird analyst Steven Ashley raised his rating on the customer-relationship management software developer to outperform from neutral. Ashley said RightNow stands to benefit from a new software product that lets corporate customers monitor customers' conversations over social-media networks in order to better understand those customers' needs and frustrations. Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) also got an upbeat assessment from Citigroup analyst Glen Yeung, who initiated his coverage of the chip maker with a buy rating and a $35-a-share price target. Yeung said that he believes Broadcom's strategy that includes focusing on communications chips will help extend the company's growth streak. However, Yeung's take on Broadcom failed to build enthusiasm for the company's stock, as Broadcom's shares fell 59 cents to close at $28.80.
