By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc. and Groupon Inc. had
gains that stood out in tech-stock trading Friday, but much of the
sector retreated along with the broader market following the latest
figures on the U.S. inflation levels.
Apple (AAPL) rose 2.6%, to close at $443.66 even though its top
rival Samsung made a splash late Thursday with the unveiling of its
Galaxy S4 smartphone. Several analysts that cover Apple remained
upbeat about the company's mobile-phone prospects even with the
launch of the Galaxy S4. See: Apple shares up despite Galaxy S4
threat.
Groupon Inc. (GRPN) shares also performed well, rising more than
6%, to end the day at $5.39. The online daily deal company received
a positive endorsement from noted Legg Mason investor Bill Miller,
who while on the CNBC cable channel said he liked Groupon's stock
"a lot" and noted the company has $1.2 billion in cash and no
debt.
But Apple and Groupon were among the day's outliers, as
investors reacted negatively to the Labor Department saying
consumer prices in February rose 0.7%, the highest gain since June
2009. A surprise spike in gasoline prices was among the main
reasons for the overall price increase. See: Inflation highest in
more than three years.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) trimmed its losses, but still
fell almost 10 points to close at 3,249, while the Philadelphia
Semiconductor Index (SOX) gave up 1.7%.
One of the biggest percentage drops among tech stocks came from
solid-state-drive maker Stec Inc. (STEC), which fell more than 7%,
to close at $5.07 a share. On Thursday, Stec reported a wider
quarterly loss and the company's top shareholder, Balch Hill LLC,
called from for Stec co-founders Mark Moshayedi and Manouch
Moshaeydi to resign from the company's board of directors. Balch
Hill holds a 9% stake in Stec.
Online professional-services recommendation company Angie's List
Inc. (ANGI) shed 7 cents a share to close at $19.78 after earlier
falling as much as 4%. Late Thursday, Angie's List said Chief
Financial Officer Robert Millard would step down at the end of the
quarter. Controller Charles Hundt will be interim CFO until a
replacement for Millard is found.
Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, who recently initiated
coverage of Angie's List with an outperform rating and $25-a-share
target price, said Millard's departure as CFO was "a surprise,
given that there was nothing really negative of late" to come from
the company. See: Angie's List gets high marks as shares rise.
Other losses came from AOL Inc. (AOL), which fell 5.4% to close
at $34.60; Zynga Inc. (ZNGA), off by 2.2% to close at $3.62a share,
and eBay Inc. (EBAY), which gave up 2.7% to end the day at
$50.41.
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