Technology

Monday Morning's 14 Tech Stock Movers Include Cisco, Microsoft and Splunk

Paul Ausick

Published: February 14, 2022 10:38 am

Tech stocks got off to a slightly upbeat start Monday morning, but the market was seeking a direction since the opening bell. At last look, the Nasdaq traded down by about 0.13%, the S&P 500 down by around 0.56% and the Dow Jones industrials down by 0.86%. All three closed lower on Friday.

There is no economic news out Monday, and stocks got a bit of a boost from a comment by Russia’s foreign minister that there is a chance for an agreement over Ukraine. That sent crude prices down a bit, and yields on 10-year and two-year Treasuries up about three and seven basis points, respectively. The yield curve narrowed to below 0.40 percentage points.

Consumer cyclicals was the only sector trading higher (0.2%) in the early going. The other 10 market sectors traded lower in the first half-hour or so of trading, with energy down 2.1% and health care down 1.1%.

Here are 14 Nasdaq 100 index stocks that were making the biggest moves early Monday.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) traded up 5.6%, at $140.88 in a 52-week range of $105.45 to $176.66. The company reportedly has rejected an offer from Cisco Systems to be acquired for $20 billion. Although discussions are said to be over, the offer, which amounted to a premium of 11% over Friday’s closing price, may have been too low, and Cisco or another firm could make a higher one.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) traded up about 2.2%, at $115.78 in a 52-week range of $72.50 to $164.46. The company completed its acquisition of Xilinx Monday morning.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was up about 1.3% to $242.68, in a 52-week range of $115.67 to $346.47. The company had no specific news.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) traded up by about 2%, at $91.58 in a 52-week range of $65.67 to $98.45. Wedbush just upgraded the stock from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $100 to $120.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) traded up about 2.2%, at $72.72 in a 52-week range of $64.53 to $90.00. The company had no specific news.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) traded up by about 1.5%, at $135.14 in a 52-week range of $129.72 to $204.00. The company had no specific news.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) traded up by about 1.4% at $143.21 in a 52-week range of $134.70 to $451.77. CCIC has initiated coverage on the stock with an Outperform rating and a price target of $182.92.

On the negative side, software providers appeared to be out of favor in early trading Monday.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG) traded down by about 3.7%, at $161.84 in a 52-week range of $69.73 to $199.68. The company had no specific news.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded down by about 1.8%, at $52.90 in a 52-week range of $44.15 to $64.28. The company has apparently ended its effort to acquire Splunk, a move that signals different things to different investors. Some see a missed opportunity, and others see less spending and more shareholder returns. Loop Capital initiated coverage of the Dow stock Monday morning with a Buy rating and a price target of $71.

Cisco Systems, the technology conglomerate, has held discussions with the software company Splunk about buying it, although no deal is currently on the table, two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times on Friday. https://t.co/0oA2J6T1jl

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 12, 2022

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) traded down by about 0.5%, at $114.75 in a 52-week range of $113.17 to $310.16. The low was posted early in the morning. The company had no specific news.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) traded down about 0.5%, at $86.94 in a 52-week range of $66.19 to $92.44. The company had no specific news.

VeriSign Inc.(NASDAQ: VRSN) traded down about 0.3%, at $213.68 in a 52-week range of $184.60 to $257.03. The company had no specific news.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) traded down about 0.3%, at $534.34 in a 52-week range of $365.15 to $716.86. The company had no specific news.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded down about 0.6%, at $293.18 in a 52-week range of $224.26 to $349.67. The company had no specific news.