By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Losses from Adobe Systems Inc.
highlighted what was shaping up to be a mixed day for tech stocks
Wednesday as the market awaited the latest comments on the economy
from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Adobe (ADBE) shares gave up $1.83, or 5.7%, to $30.18 after the
software company's late-Tuesday quarterly report and outlook. Adobe
said its second-quarter earnings rose 54%, but it gave a
third-quarter forecast that potentially fell below Wall Street
analysts' forecasts.
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) shares gave up 78 cents, or
almost 3%, to $27.73 after the BlackBerry maker reportedly cut
internal targets for its PlayBook tablet due to poor sales.
Partially offsetting that report, Macquarie Capital analyst Kevin
Smithen started coverage of the company with an outperform rating
and $40-a-share price target. Smithen said RIM's current situation
"creates a buying opportunity for patient value investors."
Losses also came from Dell Inc. (DELL) , Hewlett-Packard Co.
(HPQ) , Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Intel Corp. (INTC)
(INTC)The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell almost 7 points to
2,680, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and the
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also retreated.
Much of the day's attention was expected to be given to the
Federal Reserve's statement on the economy and Fed Chairman Ben
Bernanke's subsequent press conference.
Not all tech stocks were in the red. F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV)
rose $4.91 a share, or almost 5%, to $107.84. Barclays analyst Jeff
Kvaal raised his rating on the networking-equipment company to
overweight from neutral and raised his price target on the stock to
$125 a share from $110.
Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) rose $1.08 a share, or almost 6%, to
$19.94 after the electronics contract manufacturer reported
slightly better-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter
late Tuesday.