TECH STOCKS: Dell, Facebook, Priceline Boost Tech Stocks

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech storcks started the week on a mixed note Monday, with gains from Dell Inc. and Facebook Inc. countered by losses from Intel Corp. and other chip stocks.

Dell (DELL) shares rose more than 3% to $13.44 after investment advisory firm ISS gave its support to a plan led by Dell Chief Executive Michael Dell to take the PC company private in a deal worth $24.4 billion.

ISS cited the "25.5% premium to Dell's unaffected share price" as one of the reasons it is now behind the effort by Michael Dell and private-equity group Silver Lake to take Dell private. (Read more about ISS and the efforts to take Dell private: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iss-recommends-dell-buyout-2013-07-08-94852854.)

Prior to the market closing, investor Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, who are opposing Michael Dell, issued a statement disputing the ISS recommendation.

Facebook (FB) rose 1.4%, to close at $24.71. The social-networking leader said Monday that it will expand its Graph Search service. Facebook said Graph Search, which has been in beta trial, will be available to all who use Facebook in U.S. English in the coming weeks.

Online travel company Priceline.com Inc.(PCLN) saw its shares climb almost 4%, to $888.53. Analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their rating on Priceline to overweight from equal weight.

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shares rose 3.6%, to close at $233.10. The online video-streaming company extended its multiyear licensing agreement with CBS(CBS).

Gains also came from Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Google Inc. (GOOG).

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) managed to rise 5 points and close at 3,484, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) gave up 2%.

Intel Corp. (INTC) was one of the top chip stocks in the red, as its shares fell 3.6%, to $23.18. Analyst Patrick Wang of Evercore Partners cut his rating on Intel to underweight, or sell, from equal weight, and took down his price target on the stock to $20 a share from $22. In a research note, Wang cited weak trends in PC sales and the possibility of Intel's Atom processor cannibalizing the business of its Core brand of chips.

Additionally, chip stocks were impacted by a negative research note from Citigroup analyst Glen Yeung, who cut his estimates on Intel and took Qualcomm Inc.(QCOM) off his Top Picks list due to saturation in the market for high-end smartphones.

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