Earnings Optimism Lifts Tech Shares -- Technology Roundup

Shares of tech companies rose as optimism about earnings persisted.

Shares of Facebook rose after analysts at Needham raised their price target on the social network's shares, citing "channel checks" that "indicate more robust advertising revenue growth than we previously projected."

Meanwhile, software-industry "checks point to healthy demand for security, as security remains a top priority, particularly in light of recent high profile attacks," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note. "While the average security stock is up 23% year-to-date, valuation remains reasonable on a growth-adjusted basis and estimates have room to move higher."

International Business Machines declined after the computer-services giant posted sales short of some investors' expectations.

-By Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2017 17:55 ET (21:55 GMT)