Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, August 27, 2010

Article Excerpt

HEWLETT-PACKARD CO., $38.00, New York symbol HPQ, wants to buy California-based 3PAR Inc. (New York symbol PAR), which makes data-storage systems for large corporations and government agencies. Hewlett is offering $30.00 a share, or a total of $1.9 billion, for 3PAR. That tops an earlier offer of $27.00 a share from rival computer maker Dell Inc. (Nasdaq symbol DELL). This is small purchase for Hewlett. The price is just 2% of its $88.7-billion market cap (or the value of all of its outstanding shares). But adding 3PAR would expand Hewlett’s expertise in the rapidly growing field of “cloud computing.” That’s where data and software reside on one or more centralized computer servers. Users connect to these servers over the Internet through a variety of devices. By centralizing data and programs, cloud computing cuts a client’s costs and improves security. Dell may increase its bid for 3PAR. However, Hewlett held cash of $14.7 billion, or $6.31 a share, as of July 31, 2010,…