By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A rare analyst upgrade of Dell
Inc. gave the troubled PC company a big boost in Monday's trading
session, as tech stocks on the whole began with the week in
positive territory.
Dell (DELL) rose 74 cents a share, or almost 8%, to $10.38 after
Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope raised his rating on Dell's stock
to buy from sell, with a price target of $13 a share. In a research
note, Shope said that while demand for PCs remains down, "we could
begin to see sentiment and expectations tilt positively in
2013."
Shope added that Wall Street's consensus earnings expectations
for Dell's next fiscal year are also down so much that, "We believe
this reset has produced a positive risk-reward (opportunity) for
the stock."
Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares rose 1%, to $591.50, after the company
said the iPhone 5 would be available in South Korea on Friday, in
China next week, and in more than 50 other countries before
Christmas.
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) was up more than 7%,
at $2.35 a share, and online review and recommendation company Yelp
Inc. (YELP) saw its shares rise more than 5%, to $9.89.
Facebook Inc. (FB) shares rose almost 3%, to $28.77, following
reports that the company was in talks to acquire WhatsApp, a
cross-platform mobile-messaging application developer.
Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) shares lost more ground, falling almost 6%, to
$2.32 a share in wake of the social-gaming company announcing a
series of changes in its partnership with Facebook. There were also
reports of more executives leaving the company.
Internet radio company Pandora Media Inc. (P) rose 1.3%, to
$8.84 a day ahead of its next quarter earnings report.
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) edged into positive territory, to
reach $11.64, despite a rating downgrade by Canaccord Genuity
analyst Michael Walkley, who cut the BlackBerry maker to see from
hold.
Walkley said that despite the recent rise in RIM's share price
ahead of the launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system next
year, "our checks and analysis of the global competitive landscape
suggest a very low probability BlackBerry 10 sales can turn around
RIM's long-term business trends."
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 5 points to 3,015, while
the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and the Morgan Stanley
High Tech 35 Index managed small gains.
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