By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks mostly rose Thursday,
but it was talk about a possible acquisition by Dell Inc. that
gained attention as trading progressed.
Technologies Inc. (CML) said they were in "advanced discussions"
about Dell acquiring Compellent for $27.50 a share.
However, Compellent's shares fell by $4.43, or 13%, to $29.24,
meaning Dell's offer would be at a discount from where Compellent's
shares have traded of late. Compellent has been said to be a
possible takeover target after Dell lost out in a bidding war with
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) to acquire 3Par Inc. during the
summer.
CommVault Systems Inc. (CVLT), which has also been seen as a
possible data-storage takeover target, fell by $1.46 a share, or
4.7%, to $29.67.
Networking-equipment maker Ciena Corp. (CIEND) rose $1.94 a
share, or 12%, to $17.84 after the company gave a mixed
fourth-quarter earnings report, but said it expects its
first-quarter sales to be higher than Wall Street analysts'
forecasts.
Chinese Internet video-streaming company Youku.com Inc. (YOKU)
climbed another $4.84 a share, or 14%, to $38.27, one day after its
IPO in which its shares soared 161%.
U.S. shares of Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML Holding (ASMLD)
rose $2.28 a share, or 6.7%, to $37.51 after the company forecast
fourth-quarter bookings of $2.66 billion and said its expects
demand to improve in most of its semiconductor market segments.
Among other tech stocks, gains came from Oracle Corp. (ORCL),
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Google Inc. (GOOG), Cisco Systems Inc.
(CSCO) and Intel Corp. (INTC)
(INTC)(INTC)The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose almost 8
points to 2,616 and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was
up slightly.