TECH STOCKS: Facebook Shares Hit Record On Stellar Earnings

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Facebook Inc. was in the tech sector spotlight Thursday in the wake of the social-networking leader's upbeat second quarter earnings. Amazon.com Inc. and Pandora Media Inc. also garnered attention ahead of their earnings reports.

Facebook (FB) shares rose almost 6% to $75.32, after touching a record $76.74, after the company reported a fiscal second-quarter profit of $791 million, or 30 cents a share, on revenue of $2.91 billion Wednesday. During the year-ago period, Facebook earned $333 million, or 13 cents a share, on $1.81 billion in sales.

Facebook said that its capital spending rose 40% from a year ago as 62% of its revenue in the quarter came from mobile ads.

Aaron Kessler, of Raymond James, reiterated his outperform rating on Facebook's stock and raised his price target on the shares to $80, saying "our expectation for continued strong advertiser demand, especially for mobile, [and] we expect solid engagement trends to continue."

Amazon (AMZN) shares rose by $2.63 to $360.80 ahead of the e-commerce company's quarterly results due after the close of trading. Pandora (P), which is also on tap to give its second-quarter report after the market closes, was up by almost 1% at $27.80.

Gains also came from Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), IBM Corp. (IBM), Micron Technology Inc. (MU) and eBay Inc. (EBAY).

Angie's List Inc. (ANGI), was nowhere near advancing, as its shares plunged almost 23% to $7.87.

On Wednesday, Angie's List reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter results, as the online professional services recommendation company said it lost $18.4 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with a loss of $14.3 million, or 25 cents a share, a year ago. Wall Street analysts had expected the company to lose 24 cents a share. At least five Wall Street analysts cut their ratings on Angie's List following its report.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 3 points to 4,470.

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