By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gains from Adobe Systems Inc.
stood out in the tech sector Friday, but losses from Apple Inc. and
others kept tech stocks from launching any meaningful rally to end
the week.
Apple (AAPL) shares fell almost 4%, to close at $509.79. Before
the start of trading, UBS analyst Steven Milunovich cut his price
target on Apple's stock to $700 a share from $780.
In a research note, Milunovich said he was taking a slightly
more conservative view on Apple due to supply chain checks that
suggest a decline in iPhone production in the March quarter of
2013, and that the new iPad Mini could be cannibalizing some sales
of the iPad.
With Apple's losses leading the way, the Nasdaq Composite Index
(RIXF) fell more than 20 points, to close at 2.971. The
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and the Morgan Stanley High
Tech 35 Index also ended the day with losses.
VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY) was another big decliner, falling
almost 11%, to close at $29.60 after the payment-processing
technology company reported a wider quarterly loss late
Thursday.
Losses also came from Dell Inc. (DELL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT),
Seagate Technology (STX) and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM).
Adobe (ADBE) shares rose almost 6%, to close at $37.56 after the
software company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings
after the close of trading on Thursday. Adobe earned 61 cents a
share, excluding one-time items, on $1.15 billion in revenue, while
analysts has forecast the company to earn 57 cents a share, on
sales of $1.1 billion.
Groupon Inc. (GRPN) shares rose almost 3%, to end the day at
$4.93, after earlier rising above $5 a share for the first time
since Oct. 18.
Other gainers included Oracle Corp. (ORCL), IBM Corp. (IBM),
Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Nvidia Corp. (NVDA).
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