TECH STOCKS: Tech Stocks Rise On Latest Data Storage Buyout

By Dan Gallagher

Technology stocks posted gains Monday as deal-making in the data storage market continued to draw attention.

IBM Corp. (IBM) announced plans to buy Netezza Corp. (NZ) for $27 per share in cash, for a total enterprise value of $1.7 billion. The price was about 10% above Netezza's latest closing price, but represented a premium of more than 80% from its market value before M&A rumors caused a run-up of data storage stocks last month.

Netezza shares jumped $3.67, or 14.9%, to close at $28.27.

Netezza's run-up before Monday was caused by a high-profile bidding war for 3Par Inc. (PAR) , which was bought by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) for more than $2.3 billion following several counter-offers from Dell Inc. (DELL)

IBM shares were up 1.2% to close at $131.79, while H-P added 0.6% to close at $39.39. Dell shares were up 1.8% to close at $12.67.

Other data storage stocks saw small gains on the latest deal. CommVault Systems (CVLT) was up 3.8% while Compellent (CML) was up by 1%. Isilon Systems (ISLN) rose 1.7%.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) was up by 1.7% to close at 2,356, while the Morgan Stanley High-Tech Index was up 1.5%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) gained 0.5%.

Apple (AAPL) , Google (GOOG) and Western Digital (WDC) also made strong gains.

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) saw its shares rise by a fraction as its annual trade show Oracle World kicked off in San Francisco. CEO Larry Ellison spoke to attendees on Sunday night, while newly hired co-president Mark Hurd addressed the crowd Monday morning.