TECH STOCKS: Pandora, Yahoo Help Pace Tech Gains

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Most leading tech stocks flexed their muscles and advanced Thursday, with Pandora Media Inc. among the gainers ahead of its quarterly earnings report, due after the close of trading.

Pandora (P) shares rose 2.3%, to $29.09 as the Internet radio company prepared to report its fiscal third-quarter results after the market closes. Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate Pandora will earn 6 cents a share, excluding one-time items, on $177 million in revenue, up from a profit of 5 cents a share on revenue of $120 million in the same period a year ago.

Facebook Inc. (FB) was up by 36 cents a share at $46.81. On Wednesday, FBR Capital Markets analyst William Bird initiated his coverage of Facebook with an outperform rating and $60-a-share price target.

Yahoo Inc (YHOO) rose 2.5% to $36.50 a share amid speculation that the Internet company could be on track to make a big acquisition in the wake of increase its stock buyback plan by $5 billion.

Gains also came from Micron Technology Inc. (MU), up almost 4% at $19.52; Groupon Inc. (GRPN), which rose almost 3% to $9.48 a share; Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), up 1.5% to trade at $367.96 a share, and Netflix Inc. (NFLX), which rose 2.3% to $347.34.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 32 points to 3,953, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was up by almost 1%.

One notable decliner was GameStop Corp. (GME), which fell by more than 8%, to $48.10 a share. The videogame retailer reported better-than-expected third-quarter results on Thursday, but gave a fourth-quarter outlook that failed to meet Wall Street analysts forecasts.

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