By Rex Crum
Tech stocks managed to find some gains in a mixed trading
session Tuesday, with Lexmark International Inc. one of the sector
standouts following the company's strong second-quarter earnings
report.
Lexmark (LXK), rose $2.95 a share, or 8.5%, to $38.36. Before
the market opened, the printing and imaging technology company
reported a profit of $85.1 million, or $1.07 a share, up from $17
million, or 22 cents, in the year-earlier period. Revenue reached
$1.03 billion from $905 million.
The results were bolstered by strong sales of printing hardware
and supplies, as well as managed-print services, Lexmark said.
A few other tech stocks followed Lexmark's lead, with Apple Inc.
(AAPL), Hewlett-Packard Co. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Google Inc.
(GOOG) notching gains.
However, the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) closed with a loss of
8 points at 2,288.The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and
the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also ended the day in
the red.
Decliners included Zoran Corp. (ZRAN), which fell 78 cents a
share, or 8%, to $8.99.
Needham & Co. analyst Rajvindra Gill cut his rating on
Zoran's stock to hold from buy, saying the maker of chips and
software used in digital video has suffered from two-straight weak
quarters of sales in the digital-television market.
Electronics contract manufacturer Sanmina-SCI Corp. (SANM) fell
$2.68 a share, or 17%, to $13.18. Late Monday, Sanmina reported a
fiscal third-quarter profit, but its results fell short of Wall
Street analysts' forecasts.
Video-game retailer Gamestop Corp. (GME) gave up 60 cents a
share, or almost 3%, to close at $20.29 after the company said it
would acquire social-gaming site Kongregate.
Losses also came from Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Seagate Technology
(STX), Intel Corp. (INTC) and Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM)