First Solar, Inc. (FSLR), Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) & More: The Three Biggest Surprises in Tech This Week

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This week saw fresh PC sales estimates for the first quarter from analyst firms IDC and Gartner, and they both pointed to a drastic drop. IDC said unit sales fell 14% year over year, reaching rock-bottom levels not seen since 2009.

And yes, investors were flabbergasted. Shares of PC giant Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) traded 6.6% lower after these announcements, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) plunged 5%. You can bet that Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) would be in the dumps if the stock weren’t insulated from news-powered swings by the ongoing process of going private.

So I guess this is a shock of sorts. If nothing else, I’m surprised that the markets took the PC sales reports as hard as they did.

The article The 3 Biggest Surprises in Tech This Week originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any company mentioned. Check out Anders’ bio and holdings or follow him on Twitter and Google+.The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft.

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