The technology sector exchange traded funds took a small breather after the precipitous decline in global stocks Thursday, but Hewlett-Packard (NasdaqGS: HPQ) led the tech sector losers on Friday as investors scrutinize the announcement of a new CEO.
PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) was up 0.73% at last check.
Hewlett-Packard shares fell almost 5%, sinking to a six-year low, on investor concerns that new CEO, Meg Whitman, was not the right choice, according to the Associated Press.
HP announced that former eBay (NasdaqGS: EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman would be taking over for Leo Apothekar, who only held onto the position for 11 months. [HP and Oracle Lead Tech Sector, ETFs]
Investors voiced concerns about Whitman’s lack of experience in enterprise technology and pointed to the fact that eBay is only a fraction of HP’s size.
“While we believe the decision to replace Leo Apotheker was a good one, we are disappointed with the naming of Meg Whitman as HP’s permanent CEO, and believe that this sentiment is shared by most investors and large HP shareholders,” Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi commented. “We believe the company was remiss in not conducting a comprehensive CEO search.”
However, H-P Chairman Ray Lane defended Whitman’s new position, likening her to former President Ronald Regan, reports Matt Jarzemsky for The Wall Street Journal.
“Ronald Reagan was an actor–he was a pretty good president,” Lane remarked. “A leader is a leader. Meg is a leader.”
PowerShares QQQ
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Max Chen contributed to this article.