Even on days like today where the broad markets open largely lower, there are always exceptions to the rule. True to form, tech investors will note some major names in the tech space have bucked that trend, even as the sector reels on the heels of Hewlett-Packard's substandard earnings release prior to the market's open. Let's take a quick look to see exactly what's behind today's tech winners.
A vote of confidence
Coming out of left field, shares of daily-deal laggard Groupon (GRPN 6.23%) spiked another 14% today, extending its improbable rally. Over the last five days, the company's depressed share price has risen an astonishing 30%.
The fuel behind today's rally comes from the hedge fund world, where the great Julian Robertson's protege Chase Coleman of Tiger Global disclosed owning a 9.9% stake in the company. The news certainly does bode well for Groupon's sagging stock price. Coleman's racked up an enviable performance record. His endorsement today indicates he finds value in the Groupon, whose shares are 85% off their IPO price, even after the recent rally. However, little has fundamentally changed for the daily deal monster. Especially taking its impressive run of late into account, Groupon still seems like a risky proposition for the individual investor.
Fortune favors the BlackBerry bold
Well, not exactly. However, shares of the beleaguered Canadian smartphone maker have risen around 3% as well today on the strength of an upgrade from one of the company's most vehement critics. Peter Misek of Jefferies upgraded the stock on the strength of its better-than-expected performance with some of BlackBerry's telecom partners. In a note to clients, Misek remarked, "Preliminary results from our quarterly handset survey indicate developed market carriers have a much more positive view of BB10 than we expected."
Once the toast of the industry, today Research In Motion finds itself in an increasingly precarious place. Its share of the booming smartphone market has shriveled dramatically over the last several years as Apple's (AAPL 0.49%) iOS and Google's (GOOGL -2.11%) Android have become the dominant forces in the smartphone market. RIMM needs its upcoming operating systems to succeed to stanch its market share losses. However, aside from today's bullishness, the company's recent history of ineptitude still makes investors' skepticism seem more than justified.
