Tech Winners & Losers: Intel

Tech stocks were mostly down Thursday along with the major market indices though semiconductor chip stocks showed some strength.

Intel(INTC Quote) added 90 cents, or 3.9%, to $23.70. An analyst at Citigroup said field checks in Japan suggest that orders for Intel's Atom chip is running ahead of expectations.

Based on the field checks, Intel's "relatively aggressive" 8.8% third- quarter revenue growth guidance seems "more achievable," said analyst Glen Yeung in a research note.

Intel rival AMD(AMD Quote) was also up 28 cents, or 5.8%, to $5.08.

Micron Technology(MU Quote) was up 18 cents, or 3.6%, to $5.16. The company hosted an analyst day Tuesday that provided a "generally positive" update, said Oppenheimer analyst Daniel Morris in a note. He has an outperform rating and a $9 price target on the stock.

VeriSign(VRSN Quote) plunged $5.16, or 15.2%, to $28.70 following its second-quarter results.

VeriSign reported higher losses in the second quarter in part because of restructuring-related charges. It reported net loss of $68 million, or 35 cents a share, including a $92 million non-cash impairment charge and restructuring charges of $98 million. That compares with a net loss of $4.7 million, or 2 cents a share the year before.

VeriSign also said the weak credit market and economy has taken a toll on the company's attempts to divest its non-core businesses.

An analyst at Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to perform from outperform after the release of the results.

Shares of Sirius XM Radio(SIRI Quote) were down 4 cents, or 2.4%, to $1.41 after it reported pre-merger second-quarter results.