Tech Winners & Losers: Intel
Tech stocks were slightly red on Thursday, as the broader market rallied from new lows triggered by bleak unemployment data as well as a warning from
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
that its fourth-quarter sales will be down significantly.
The
Nasdaq
fell 2.3 points to 1497 in recent trading.
Late Wednesday, Intel cited
weaker-than-expected demand for PCs
, and slashed its fourth-quarter sales forecast to $9 billion, plus or minus $300 million. That's down from its previous estimate of $10.1 billion to $10.9 billion.
Intel's shares tumbled 3.7% to $13.02 on Thursday.
The company's warning had a ripple effect on other related businesses.
Synaptics
(SYNA) - Get Report
, for instance, which makes touch pads for PCs, plunged 15.1% to $19.84. Lazard Capital downgraded its rating on the stock to sell from hold, and lowered its full-year earnings estimate to $1.83 a share from its previous forecast of $1.97 a share.
Shares of
Hewlett-Packard
(HPQ) - Get Report
and
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
also felt Intel's news. H-P was down 6.7% to $29.07 while Dell dropped 14.4% to $8.99.
Several analysts provided a cautious outlook on Dell, including Goldman Sachs, which chopped its rating to sell from neutral based on expected deterioration in margins and earnings. The firm also cut its price target cut to $9 from $14.
Shares of
Research In Motion
( RIMM) declined 8.4% to $39.56 after several analysts took down their estimates on the company.
Among them was Merrill Lynch analyst Vivek Arya, who cut his earnings estimate for the third quarter to 80 cents a share from 95 cents a share. Arya cited macro-economic headwinds as well as a late launch of its new Blackberry Storm and Bold devices.
The Blackberry Storm is
on Nov. 21 for $199 -- the same price point as
Apple's
(AAPL) - Get Report
popular iPhone.
Shares of
Amazon
(AMZN) - Get Report
were down 3.8% to $39.98 after Banc of America cut its earnings estimates on the company for the year. It now expects a profit of $1.28 a share, down from $1.36 a share. Although the firm maintains a buy rating on the stock, it lowered its price target to $72 from $80 in light of a deteriorating economy.
"We anticipate that demand for large screen TV's and other higher ASP-consumer electronics will continue to be weak in this environment," Banc of America analyst Brian Pitz wrote in his research. "And note, AMZN has already warned of weakness in higher-ASP flat-panel TV sales."
Shares of
Sprint-Nextel
(S) - Get Report
were soaring on Thursday, by 14.9% to $2.24 . The company is
offering voluntary buyouts to employees as a way to cut down on expenses.
