By Rex Crum
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Big gains from the likes of
Broadcom Corp., JDA Software Group Inc. and Compellent Technologies
Inc. finally spurred enough of the tech sector to rally in late
trading and lead the broader market to come back from its low
points by the time the market closed.
But it was fresh swipe by Oracle's chief executive at
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s new CEO that grabbed most of the attention as
the drama between the tech rivals heated up.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) bounced back to rise almost 6
points and close at 2,503. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index
(SOX) rose 3%, led by gains from Broadcom on the heels of the
communication chipmaker's third-quarter financial results.
Broadcom shares rallied $4.34, or 11.7%, to close at $41.56 as
the company's third-quarter earnings rose almost four times from a
year ago. Broadcom also gave a strong fourth-quarter forecast.
Compellent (CML) shares surged by $6.36, or more than 32%, to
$26.06 after the data-storage technology company posted
third-quarter earnings that rose 47% from a year ago. Piper Jaffray
raised its rating on Compellent to overweight following the
company's report.
RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) climbed 97 cents a share, or more
than 15%, to $7.34 after the company reported better-than-expected
second-quarter results late Tuesday.
JDA Software (JDAS) shares rose $2.86, or 13%, to $25.01. Late
Tuesday, the supply-chain management software company reported a
third-quarter profit of $8.3 million, or 20 cents a share, on
$158.4 million in sales, a reversal after having posted a loss in
the same period a year ago.
Router and wireless-networking equipment company Netgear Inc.
(NTGR) saw its shares rise $3.47, or more than 12%, to $31.75 after
reporting upbeat third-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
Chip-equipment maker FormFactor Inc. (FORM) shares added $1.17,
or 14%, to close at $9.54 following third-quarter results in which
it lost 55 cents a share on $47.3 million in sales. The results
were slightly better than analysts' forecasts.
Silicon Image Inc. (SIMGE) shares surged $1.63, or almost 36%,
to $6.18 after the chipmaker reported late Tuesday a third-quarter
profit of $9.5 million, or 12 cents a share, on $60.5 million in
sales. During the year-ago period, Silicon Image lost $15.5
million, or 21 cents a share.
Impending courtroom drama
Away from the double-digit percentage moves, it was the swipes
that Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison took at the new brass at H-P (HPQ)
-- CEO Leo Apotheker and Chairman Ray Lane -- that had the market
talking.
A trial is scheduled for Nov. 1 in a software lawsuit between
Oracle (ORCL) and SAP AG (SAP),where Apotheker had served as CEO
until earlier this year. The trial centers around how much SAP
should pay in damages for stealing Oracle's software a few years
ago.
Ellison said that "a majority of this theft occurred while Mr.
Apotheker was CEO of SAP," and that Oracle intends to present
evidence of Apotheker's involvement when the trial begins in
federal court in Oakland, Calif.
In his statement, Ellison added that he expects Lane, a former
company president at Oracle, to keep Apotheker "far, far away from
the courthouse until this trial is over."
U.S.-listed shares of SAP fell $2.81, or 5.2%, to close at
$51.27, following lackluster results and outlook issued by the
German company.
Oracle shares rose 7 cents to $28.70, while H-P gave up 56 cents
to close at $42.039.
Also among the decliners was Molex Inc. (MOLX), which fell $1.73
a share, or 7.7%, to $20.82. The selling came after the maker of
electronic connector products gave a weaker-than-expected forecast
for the second quarter ending in December.
Other declines came from Apple Inc. (AAPL), EMC Corp. (EMC),
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Google Inc. (GOOG).