TECH STOCKS: EBay Shares Rise On Ratings Upgrade

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch E-commerce leader could see 'significant catalyst' with PayPal spinoff

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks started the week with mild gains Monday, with eBay Inc. among the advancers after Stifel Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt raised his rating on the e-commerce company to buy from hold.

EBay (EBAY) shares rose 1.2% to $55.45 following Devitt's upgrade. In a research note, Devitt said that eBay's planned spin off of its PayPal electronic-payments business "could be a significant catalyst for its shares" and set a price target on eBay's stock of $65. Devitt also said eBay's shares could reach as high as $75 "if the [PayPal] spin is executed flawlessly and fully embraced by investors."

In addition to eBay, gains also came from Facebook Inc. (FB), Google Inc. (GOOGL) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN).

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) shares rose 12 cents to $72.53. The software company is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results after Thursday's market close.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose almost 12 points to 4,792, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) edged into positive territory.

Declines came from GoPro Inc. (GPRO), which was down 3.7% at $69.50 and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), which was off by almost 2% at $38.65. Twitter Inc. (TWTR) also gave up 2.7% to slip to $37.45.

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