Apple, Jive Software, Intel: Tech Premarket

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Apple (AAPL) shares were up 0.65% to $674.15 in early Thursday trading after the company announced its iPhone 5 Wednesday, as well as a refreshed iPod lineup and new version of iTunes.

The iPhone 5 has a bigger 4-inch screen, is just 7.6 millimeters thick and weighs 112 grams. The device also comes with Retina Display and runs on 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.

Apple received a slew of price target increases, including UBS analyst Steven Milunovich raising his target from $740 to $780, and Sterne Agee's Shaw Wu, who raised his price target from $780 to $820.

"The stock has discounted the announcements and is up 15% from its low after earnings. Still, we are increasing our price target from $740 to $780 per share. Strong iPhone adoption in the next six months and an iPad mini suggest the EV/FCF multiple can expand to 11x our C2013 estimates," Milunovich wrote in his report.

Pricing for the iPhone 5 starts at $199 on a two-year contract. The device will be available for pre-order on Friday and begins shipping on Sept. 21.

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Jive Software (JIVE) shares were jumping 4.2% to $14.65 following an upgrade at UBS due to valuation.

Analyst Bernt Thrill raised his rating on the stock to buy with a $20 price target after a recent 28% decline in the stock. Thrill based his recommendation on several reasons, including an attractive valuation, year-to-date underperformance, overblown competitive threats, and others.

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Citigroup downgraded a host of PC-related semiconductor names, including Intel (INTC), AMD (AMD), and Marvell Technology (MRVL), as supply chain checks for the PC do not look optimistic.

"Robbed of catalysts, we see limited likelihood PC-related shares will appreciate meaningfully in coming months, despite valuations," analyst Glenn Young wrote in his report. He also noted that he believes Windows 8, which he was bullish on earlier in the year, will not help the PC space as once thought. "At the start of 2012, we were hopeful for a boon to PC unit growth from Windows 8; it is increasingly evident to the supply chain that this is unlikely.," Young noted.

Shares of Intel dipped 0.30% to $23.12, AMD shares were off 1.8% to $3.82, while Marvell fell 0.98% to $10.15.

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Equinix (EQIX) shares soared 14.45% to $213.50 in premarket trading Thursday as the company received approval to turn into a real estate investment trust.

"Equinix believes the REIT structure has the potential to create new opportunities for value creation while supporting Equinix's growth strategies. The anticipated benefits to shareholders include significant tax savings for Equinix and increases in income distributable to shareholders," said the company's 8-K filing.

Equinix has started the conversion to REIT status, and will elect REIT status for the taxable year starting Jan. 1, 2015.

Interested in more on Equinix? See TheStreet Ratings' report card for this stock.

--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York

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