TECH STOCKS: JDSU, Pandora Lead Broad Tech Gains

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)--Gains from JDS Uniphase and Pandora Media Inc. stood out among tech stocks Thursday as much of the sector managed to turn around from losses earlier in the day.

JDSU (JDSUD) climbed more than 10% to close at $13.36 a share a day after the networking company said Wednesday that it will split into two publicly traded companies. One company would focus on JDSU's core networking hardware business, while the other would take over software-defined networking technologies. The split is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2015.

Following the announcement, RBC analyst Mark Sue raised his rating on JDSU to outperform, or buy, from sector perform, and lifted his price target on the company's stock to $18 a share from $11. Sue called JDSU's move "a significant new start for an industry defined by high innovation."

Pandora (P) rose more than 3%, to close at $26.94 a share after the online radio company said it reached a new U.S. licensing deal with music-rights manager BMG. The agreement covers all the BMI and Ascap music catalogs managed under BMG.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares managed to add 43 cents to close at $101.43 as investors and analysts continued to assess the implications of the company's new iPhones, Apple Watch and Apple Pay mobile-payment technology.

Gains also came from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), Facebook Inc. (FB) and IBM Corp. (IBM).

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 5 points to close at 4,591 and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) ended the day with a small gain.

(Read more about the day's market action in Movers & Shakers http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid.)

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