SILICON STOCKS: Tech Stocks Rise Early, Building On Recent Strength
By Michael Paige Technology stocks made mostly slight gains on Thursday, building on the sector's recent overall strength, though chip-related shares eased slightly as investors locked in profits. In morning trading, the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 11 points, or 0.5%, to 2,323. So far, the key barometer of the sector's stocks has closed higher each session this week. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) dipped 1.3 points, or 0.3%, to 511.4. In analyst action, LSI Logic Corp. watched its shares shoot up 6% to $11.46, overtaking a prior 52-week high after Banc of America upgraded the issue to buy from a prior sell recommendation. LSI (LSI) has become a turnaround story, according to the brokerage. Shares of the world's biggest chipmaker, Intel Corp. (INTC) rose slightly, as did those of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) Microsoft Corp.'s stock tacked on 3 cents to $27.39. At S.G. Cowen, analyst Walter Pritchard assumed coverage of the world's largest software company with an outperform rating. Pritchard expects Microsoft (MSFT) to outperform the market by more than 15% over the next 12 months amid new product offerings and improving revenue visibility, he said. Among shares of hardware makers, Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) eased 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $65.97. Analyst Andrew Neff at Bear Stearns trimmed his target price for the stock to $100 from $103 previously, citing issues related to the company's transition to computers based on Intel Corp. (INTC) chips. Meanwhile, shares of other big-name computer makers mostly traded higher following NPD data on personal computer sales, released overnight. Analysts said the data revealed reacceleration in the U.S. PC market. Hewlett-Packard Co.'s stock (HPQ) added 14 cents, or 0.4%, to $34.03; Dell Inc. shares (DELL) rose 18 cents, or 0.6%, to $29.74; and those of Gateway Inc. (GTW) picked up 2 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.38. Among the sector's most active stocks, risers were led by Oracle Corp. (ORCL) ; Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) ; and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) Decliners seeing heavy volume included JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) and Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) | 
