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 | SPLK Price Prediction) 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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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