Tech stocks edge higher, led by chips
10:54 AM ET 2/14/11
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks edged higher Monday, boosted by the chip sector and Netflix Inc.
Semiconductor stocks highlighted the tech advance, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 1.2%.
Leading the chip rally were Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) shares of which added 3%; SanDisk Corp. (SNDK), up 3.6%; and Micron Technology Inc. (MU) gaining 4.5%.
Micron and SanDisk got a boost from Micron's upbeat view of the NAND Flash memory-chip market.
"Micron made positive comments on NAND pricing for the first quarter at its analyst day on Friday," Lazard Capital analyst Daniel Amir said in a note. "Micron said that contract pricing for February/March is better than expected, and it sees pricing in the next two months flat to up."
Micron's bullish view, he added, is also "a positive for SanDisk."
Shares of Netflix (NFLX), meanwhile, rallied more than 5% after Caris & Co. raised its price target for the stock to $316 from $224.
AOL Inc.'s (AOL) shares rose more than 3% to $21.91 on news that Chief Executive Tim Armstrong bought 477,000 shares of the Internet company's stock, boosting his stake by 43%.
It was Armstrong's second significant insider buy at AOL, having picked up about 519,000 shares last May, according to InsiderScore.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) gained 0.1% to 2,813. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also was up 0.1%. |
