TECH STOCKS: LinkedIn, Expedia Rise In Otherwise Weak Tech Session

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch

A few heavyweights rise, but techs are broadly lower

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- LinkedIn Corp. and Expedia inc. were among the few notable tech stocks to close with gains Friday as most of the sector retreated, with GoPro Inc. slumping after the digital-camera maker's first quarterly report as a public company.

LinkedIn (LNKD) shares climbed almost 12% to close at $201.78 after the online professional-services company reported on Thursday a second-quarter loss of $934,000, or a penny a share, on revenue of $533.9 million. During the same period a year ago, LinkedIn earned $3.7 million, or 3 cents a share, on $363.7 million in sales.

However, excluding one-time items, LinkedIn earned 51 cents a share, which surpassed analysts estimates for a profit of 39 cents a share.

Expedia (EXPE) also had a strong day, with its shares rising 6.4% to close at $84.46. On Thursday, the online travel agency reported better-than-expected second quarter results, with gross bookings rising 29% from a year ago due to strong gains in the number of hotel rooms and airline tickets booked during the quarter.

Among other leading tech stocks, gains came from Apple Inc. (AAPL), Micron Technology Inc. (MU) and Netflix Inc. (NFLX).

GoPro (GPRO), however, was mired in the red early and never recovered, with its shares falling more than 14% to close at $40.97.

The digital-camera maker, which just went public on June 26, reported on Thursday a loss of $19.8 million, or 24 cents a share, on $244.7 million, compared with a loss of $5.1 million, or 6 cents a share, on $177.1 million. Excluding one-time items, GoPro earned 8 cents a share, while analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 7 cents a share on $238 million in revenue.

Some analysts were not sold on GoPro's results. Paul Coster, or J.P. Morgan, said the company had "a good quarter, but not a blowout." Coster said that valuation concerns following an almost-100% runup on the shares since GoPro went public will probably weigh on the stock for some time.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 17 points to close at 4,352, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose by 0.4%.

More must-reads from MarketWatch:

Best part of jobs report: rise in unemployment rate

Here's how close the jobs market is to normal

Four things to know about Mobileye

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires