But he also said Sun was gaining market share and in the
best financial condition in its history.
A number of analysts cut outlooks for Sun this month, many
saying a slower economy could hurt technology spending.
A poll of chief information officers by Merrill Lynch
released this week showed Sun's equipment was high ranked as a
spending priority, despite potential short-term downside from
exposure to struggling dot-coms
=====rest of the story.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Shares of network
computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. <SUNW.O> rose over 14
percent on Friday, on track for their best daily performance in
more than two weeks, in line with the day's rebound in other
battered technology shares.
Shares of Sun, the biggest maker of UNIX-based servers,
were up $4-3/32 to $31-1/8 in late-afternoon Nasdaq trade,
still well off a year high of $64-5/16 in April.
The stock, which began December above $45, has fallen 19
percent this month on concern that corporate spending on
information technology could slow in line with a broader
economic downturn.
The last time Sun bounced by as much as it had Friday was
on Dec. 5, when Sun gained 16 percent.
Debra McNeill, a portfolio manager at Fremont Investment
Advisors, which owns Sun, noted the stock was moving in sync
with other big-cap tech stocks like EMC Corp. <EMC.N> in thin
trade and said she was cautious about the rebound for both Sun
and the wider market.
"I think anything today has a lot to do with the light
volume," she said. "I hope it can hang in there. I'd wait until
Tuesday to make any bets a change in direction."
Sun was the second-most active Nasdaq share Friday, with
about 48.5 million shares traded by late afternoon, an increase
of about 9 percent from the three-month average.
Sun Chief Executive Scott McNealy told employees earlier
this week in an internal memo obtained by Reuters Thursday that
the company would have to watch costs more closely.
But he also said Sun was gaining market share and in the
best financial condition in its history.
A number of analysts cut outlooks for Sun this month, many
saying a slower economy could hurt technology spending.
A poll of chief information officers by Merrill Lynch
released this week showed Sun's equipment was high ranked as a
spending priority, despite potential short-term downside from
exposure to struggling dot-coms.
((Peter Henderson, San Francisco Newsroom (415) 677-2578
peter.henderson@reuters.com)) |
