By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks put in a middling
trading performance Tuesday, with Apple Inc. continuing to flex its
muscles and eBay Inc. among the decliners after the departure of
one of PayPal's key executives.
Apple (AAPL) rose 55 cents a share to close at $94.25 one day
after the company had a 7-for-1 stock split. Earlier in the
session, Apple reached a 52-week-high of $95.05. Analysts that
follow Apple say the next catalyst for the company will be the
release of products that could include an Apple-branded television
and what is being called the iWatch.
EBay (EBAY) ended they day off by $1.33 a share, or 2.7%, at
$48.25. Late Monday, eBay said David Marcus, president of PayPal,
is leaving the company to become head of messaging products at
Facebook Inc. (FB).
Chad Bartley, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, said
Marcus' departure "will be a negative for eBay and could pressure
[the company's] shares in the near term," and raises questions
about the long-term growth outlook for PayPal.
Facebook shares rose 4.6% to $65.77.
Online gaming company Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) rose more than 6% to
$3.20 a share after UBS analyst Eric Sheridan said he remains
"constructive" about Zynga's long-term prospects following a
meeting with company Chief Financial Officer David Lee.
Intel Corp. (INTC) rose 1.2% to $28.24, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
added 10 cents a share to close at $19.15 and Broadcom Corp. (BRCM)
slipped by 17 cents a share to end the day at $37.94. Canaccord
Genuity analyst Matthew Ramsay on Tuesday resumed coverage on all
three chip companies with hold ratings.
Among other tech stocks, gains came from Netflix Inc. (NFLX),
Twitter Inc. (TWTR), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Cisco Systems Inc.
(CSCO).
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) tacked on less than 2 points
to close at 4,338, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX)
managed to eke out a small gain.
More tech news from MarketWatch:
Gamers name Sony victorious over Microsoft at E3
Next up for Apple: new product releases
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