By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Big jumps at LinkedIn Corp. and
AOL Inc. led the tech sector to strong gains Friday, as investors
at the two growing Internet brands cheered the companies' recent
quarterly results.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 0.8% to 3,192 while the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 1% and the Morgan
Stanley High-Tech Index (MSH) edged up about 0.8%.
LinkedIn (LNKD) shares jumped more than 18% to $147 -- putting
the stock to a new high and bringing its gains over the past 12
months to more than 90%. The professional social network blew past
Wall Street's targets for the fourth quarter and issued a forecast
that was also above analysts' estimates.
Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray lifted his price target on the
stock to $176 from $150, writing in a note that the company "is
still in the relatively early stages of fully monetizing its
professional network asset and that the company has the path to
continue to grow in the mid-double digit range for at least the
next three years."
AOL (AOL) shares rose nearly 11% to $34.86, after the company
reported a 57% jump in net income for the fourth quarter, with
revenues above analysts' forecasts.
Apple (AAPL) shares picked up 1% in gains to come to $473.60.
The stock got a late-day boost Thursday after the company issued a
statement saying that it would evaluate a proposal from hedge-fund
giant David Einhorn, who's pushing the company to return more cash
to shareholders through use of preferred stock.
The company also maintained -- however -- that it is sticking by
its proposed amendment on its proxy statement to eliminate the
ability to issue such stock without shareholder approval.
Videogame publisher Activision Blizzard (ATVI) jumped more than
9% following its own better-than-expected results. Analysts from
Macquarie Capital and Sterne Agee upgraded the stock to the
equivalent of buy ratings.
"With the initial 2013 guidance now official, continued strength
in core franchises, a solid pipeline of new IP, and the increased
likelihood of a more shareholder-friendly capital structure, the
next catalysts for Activision are likely positive, in our view,"
wrote Ben Schachter of Macquarie in a note to clients.
One notable decliner was Riverbed Technology (RVBD) , down
nearly 19% after reporting a sharp drop in profit and disappointing
outlook. Daniel Ives of FBR Capital downgraded the stock to a
market perform rating following the results.
"While we had some concerns initially around the OPNET
acquisition (October 2012), it appears Riverbed has an even tougher
road ahead than we previously thought due to integration issues
related to the acquisition, coupled with headwinds on its core WAN
optimization business," he wrote.
Coinstar (CSTR) , the owner of the Redbox DVD kiosk business,
fell nearly 9% after the company reported a decline in earnings and
an outlook that was below expectations.
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