TECH STOCKS: Apple, Google Rise; Facebook, Netflix Fall

By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc.'s shares kept the tech sector in the green on Monday as Barclays raised its price target for the stock, saying the iPhone maker was poised to "retake control of the narrative."

Apple (AAPL) rose 2% to $459.68. Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes raised his price target by 13% to $525 from $465.

"We believe that Apple's shares are back on the right track -- at least for the time being -- and could continue to rally above $500, perhaps in short order," he wrote.

"We believe Apple is about to change the narrative and get investors, analysts, customers and the media finally talking about new products again -- starting with a software/services/Mac event on June 10th and a likely iPhone/iPad event in September," he said.

Apple shares took a hit after the company posted quarterly results which raised worries about declining profit margins.

Shares of Google Inc. (GOOG) rose 1.4% to $857.50.

Intel (INTC) also traded up a fraction to $24.01. RBC Capital analyst Doug Freedman upgraded the stock to outperform from sector perform citing the chip giant's potential in mobile and the "all-time low sentiment in PCs."

"Our checks suggest mobile is garnering plenty of interest: Traction in mobile is upcoming, as the magnitude of design wins may be surprising to investors," he wrote. Freedman also cited the potential impact of the appointment of Intel's new chief executive officer Brian Krzanich.

"The impact of change to Intel's vision with the appointment of Brian Krzanich should not be underestimated," Freedman added. "'Steady as she goes' is the consensus view.'"

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) also had its own CEO news as the company named Vincent Roche as its permanent chief executive. Shares of Analog Devices were up 1.7%.

Meanwhile, shares of BMC Software (BMC) traded mostly flat at $45.40 after the company announced a $6.9 billion buyout deal with a group of private equity firms.

Shares of Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shed 2% to $209.27.

Social-networking stocks were also struggling. Shares of Facebook (FB) slipped 1.6% at $27.88. Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) was off a fraction, while Groupon Inc. (GRPN) gave up 3% and Yelp Inc. (YELP) shed a fraction.

LinkedIn (LNKD) was up 1.5%.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) was up a fraction at 3,389. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) were each up a fraction.

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