Thursday's Tech Winners & Losers

Updated from 12:38 p.m. EDT

The broader technology market fell sharply Thursday, despite an analyst upgrade for Intel(INTC Quote) and an upside earnings surprise from Network Appliance(NTAP Quote).

Intel edged down 0.5% after Credit Suisse upgraded shares of the chipmaker to outperform from underperform. The firm said that there is potential for margin expansion, a more favorable competitive landscape in the MPU sector and a strengthening corporate personal computer upgrade cycle, all of which should help shares of the stock. The broker also raised its target price on the stock to $35 from $22.50. Shares closed down 12 cents to $23.10.

Meanwhile, Network Appliance rose 4.6% after the maker of data storage devices posted first-quarter results that topped Wall Street's forecast and announced a big stock repurchase plan. The company posted adjusted earnings of $76 million, or 20 cents a share, on revenue of $689 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 19 cents a share.

Looking ahead, Network Appliance sees second-quarter adjusted earnings of 24 cents to 26 cents a share on revenue of $752 million to $768 million. Analysts project earnings of 24 cents a share on revenue of $743.2 million.

Separately, the company announced that it would buy up to $1 billion in stock through a stock repurchase plan. The new buyback is in addition to the $200 million remaining through previous buyback programs. Shares closed up $1.11 to $25.27.

As for the broader technology sector, the Nasdaq 100 was down 18.83 points, or 1%, to about 1846.