TECH STOCKS: Apple, Facebook Weigh On Techs; Google Up

By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks dropped Thursday, adding to the previous day's losses, as large-cap players such as Facebook Inc., Oracle Corp. and Intel Corp. came under pressure.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares dropped $2.79 to close at $446.06 as hedge-fund giant David Einhorn held a conference call to discuss the company. Einhorn is waging a campaign to press the company to consider issuing special preferred stock.

In an interview with AllThingsD, Einhorn said his proposal offers a "win-win" for both Apple and its shareholders. "We have a solution that allows shareholders to see that value and Apple to keep that cash," he added.

Apple's retreat set the tone for a downbeat trading session, which saw the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) drop almost 33 points, or 1%, to close at 3,131.49.

The Morgan Stanley High-Tech Index (MSH) gave up 1.2%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell 1.8%.

The tech sector retreat followed Wednesday's broader market selloff sparked by investor concern over the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting minutes that revealed differences over monetary policy.

Among large-cap tech names, Oracle (ORCL), SAP AG (SAP), Intel (INTC), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) all closed in the red.

Facebook (FB) fell more than 4% to end the day at $27.28.

However, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) shares rose 2.4% to close at $17.10 ahead of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's fiscal first-quarter report.

But shares of VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY) were slammed, plummeting almost 43% to close at $18.24 after the company drastically cut its estimates for its fiscal first quarter.

On the upside, Google Inc. (GOOG) shares rose $3.07 to close at $795.53 The Internet powerhouse's stock hit an all-time high recently, rising above $800 for the first time in its history.

And the stock will probably go higher, Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner argued in a note, raising the price target to $1,000. "We believe mass adoption of smartphones, tablets and the mobile Web is a large value-creation opportunity for Google," Kirjner wrote.

Groupon Inc. (GRPN) rose almost 4% on a Piper Jaffray upgrade.

Shares of Home Away Inc. (AWAY) rallied more than 13% after the company posted upbeat results.

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