Shares of QLogic Corp., the Aliso Viejo-based maker of electronics for data storage networks, jumped Wednesday on speculation that it could be a possible takeover target of EMC Corp.
The stock closed up nearly 7% on a market value of about $1.7 billion. The stock was up as much as 9% during trading Wednesday.
QLogic is a perennial target of takeover speculation.
It’s been scrutinized closely in the past week after Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. made public a $764 million hostile bid for its top rival, Costa Mesa’s Emulex Corp.
QLogic’s shares are up roughly 20% since Broadcom announced its intentions last week.
Some analysts and industry watchers have shot down the rumor that EMC wants to buy QLogic.
Avian Securities LLC analyst Avi Cohen said the rumor is unlikely to be true for a number of reasons, according to a report on financial news site Barrons.com.
EMC “would have no need” for QLogic’s technologies, Cohen said in a research note.
He also pointed out that EMC is one of Emulex’s top customers and that a deal would alienate EMC’s customer base if it went after QLogic.
Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC makes data storage computers and software.
Emulex sells adapter cards to EMC that help speed up the flow of data on a storage network.
Wedbush Morgan Securities LLC analyst Kaushik Roy called the rumors “garbage.”
“EMC is not going to buy a component supplier like QLogic,” he said.
QLogic is set to report quarterly results on Thursday after the close of trading.
Analysts, on average, are looking for the company to post profits of $26 million on sales of $135 million.
