What’s the Big Idea this week?
For the week, the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock rally overshadowed Riverbed’s run. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE:RAX), and salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) also notched significant gains as my five tech stocks gained ground on Mr. Market for the second consecutive week. The Big Idea Portfolio reclaimed 336 basis points in our three-year contest to see who can do better for investors. All four indexes also gained.
| Company | Starting Price* | Recent Price | Total Return |
| Apple | $416.26** | $449.98 | 8.1% |
| $650.09 | $845.72 | 30.1% | |
| Rackspace Hosting | $41.65 | $49.49 | 18.8% |
| Riverbed Technology | $25.95 | $15.53 | (40.2%) |
| Salesforce | $25.26** | $42.24 | 67.2% |
| AVERAGE RETURN | — | — | 16.80% |
| S&P 500 SPDR | $124.39** | $161.37 | 29.73% |
| DIFFERENCE | — | — | (12.93%) |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
* Tracking began at market close on Jan. 6, 2012.
** Adjusted for dividends, splits, and other returns of capital.
Notable newsmakers
Among the other tech stocks making news last week:
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) rose more than 5% last week despite reporting slightly worse-than-expected earnings results. Mobile ad revenue surged 30% while Instagram reached 100 million active users. Overall revenue soared 38% as the social network’s installed base grew to 1.11 billion worldwide, a 23% improvement.
More results LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) fell as much as 14% after reporting disappointing guidance. The professional network expects $342 million to $347 million in revenue in the current quarter, well below the $359.2 million Wall Street was hoping for.
Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) also took a beating, falling 19% after reporting fiscal third-quarter results well below consensus estimates. Revenue fell more than $30 million short while profit came in $0.06 below projections.
Finally, mark your calendars: Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE:RAX) reports results on Wednesday, May 8.
What else caught your eye in the tech world last week? Do you believe Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock will rally from here? Let us know what you think in the comments box below.
The article Why Google Stock Hit a 52-Week High Last Week originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Tim Beyers.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Apple, Google, Rackspace Hosting, Riverbed Technology, and salesforce.com at the time of publication. Check out Tim’s Web home and portfolio holdings, or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Nuance Communications, Rackspace Hosting, Riverbed Technology, and salesforce.com and owns shares of Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Nuance Communications, and Riverbed Technology.
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