Friday, January 2, 2009

Mass. stocks tumble in 2008

By Mass High Tech staff

Massachusetts area public companies stumbled in 2008 with many local stocks dropping below previous years’ levels, despite the small lift at the close of the year illustrated by the Mass High Tech/Bentley University New England Technology Stock Index (NETSI), which showed a rise of 1.83 points, to 53.44 (from a base of 100 on Jan. 3, 2000).

The Boston Business Journal noted major hits in both tech and finance companies alike.

Video editing technology maker Avid Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID) saw its stock value drop 60 percent in 2008, while the stock value of Internet content delivery network firm Akamai Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM) dropped 55 percent to close the year at $15.09. Other local tech firms moving ahead from a darker 2008 include EMC Corp., Boston Scientific Corp., Genzyme Corp. and Biogen Idec Inc., the BBJ reports.

Even the formidable defense market saw a 15 percent tumble in stock value from Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN), closing the year at $51.04.