TECH STOCKS: Facebook Rises; Oracle, Zynga Weigh On Techs

By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Facebook Inc. shares rose Friday, getting a lift from a UBS upgrade, but the tech sector took a hit from slumping shares of Oracle Corp. and Zynga Inc.

Facebook (FB) gained 2.6% to close at $24.53, a day after the social network rolled out a video feature for its popular Instagram photo-sharing service.

UBS analyst Eric Sheridan upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, citing Facebook's "focused monetization efforts."

But shares of Oracle (ORCL) tumbled 9.3% to close at $30.14, a day after the Redwood City, Calif.-based technology company reported revenue that fell short of expectations.

Oracle was the top decliner on the S&P 500 (SPX) which was up a fraction.

Zynga (ZNGA) shares fell 5.1% to close at $2.71. Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight.

Analyst Scott Devitt cited Zynga's updated guidance and its plan to cut 18% of its workforce, saying those moves show "that its transition may take longer / cut deeper than we thought just a few months ago."

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) shed 7 points, or 0.2%, to close at 3,357. The benchmark ended the week down 2%.

The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (SPX) was also down a fraction, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) eked out a fractional gain, as shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel Corp. (INTC) advanced.

On the downside, shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) lost 2.3% to close at $24.15, while Apple Inc. (AAPL) fell 1% to close at $413.50. IBM Corp (IBM) also gave up 1% to close at $195.46.

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