TECH STOCKS: Apple, Facebook Spur Tech Stocks; Molex Surges

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc. was among tech-sector advancers on Monday ahead of a company event expected to involve the iPhone, Facebook Inc. climbed toward $45 and Molex Inc. surged on a takeover offer.

Apple (AAPL) shares closed with a gain of $7.95 at $506.17 as anticipation continued to rise over the company's plans for the next model of the iPhone. Apple has an event scheduled at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters on Tuesday, and it is expected to unveil details of up to two new versions of the iPhone.

Molex (MOLX) shares climbed more than 31%, to reach $38.63 after the electronics-components maker agreed to be acquired by closely held conglomerate Koch Industries for $7.2 billion in cash.

Facebook Inc. (FB) continued its recent muscle flexing, as its shares rose to a 52-week-high of $44.79 before closing at $44.04. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia raised his price target on Facebook's stock to $50 a share. It was the Facebook's highest point since reaching $45 a share the day of its IPO in May 2012.

Groupon Inc. (GRPN) closed with a gain of 3% at $11.10 share. On Sunday, Groupon said it acquired European travel app Blink for an undisclosed amount. Blink offers access to last-minute hotel deals in eight European countries, and Groupon said it would add Blink's service to its Groupon Getaways business.

Dell Inc. (DELL) finished the day at its break-even point of $13.84 a share after activist investor Carl Ichan said he was giving up his efforts to stop a proposal led by Dell Chief Executive Michael Dell to take his namesake company private. Dell shareholders are scheduled to vote on Michael Dell's plan on Thursday.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) shares rose 1.3%, to $299.71. The online-retailing giant denied a report that it would launch its own, free smartphone any time soon.

Storage-technology company NetApp Inc. (NTAP) rose 1.2%, to $42.76 a share. UBS analyst Steve Milunovich raised his rating on NetApp to buy from neutral.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) climbed by more than 46 points, or 1.3%, to close at 3,706, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 1.3%.

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