Sybase, Novell jump as nest of rumors grows
NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuter) - Shares of Sybase Inc (SYBS), and Novell Inc (NOVL) both rose as traders tried to jump on a web of unsubstantiated takeover
rumors flying about possible combinations with International Business Machines Corp (IBM).
Several traders said Novell was rising on renewed rumors that it would be bought by Big Blue, with the stock up 1-5/16 to 10-5/16 in early trading with nearly 14
million shares traded. It was the most heavily traded stock on the Nasdaq.
IBM said its policy was not to comment on rumors or speculation. Novell had previously declined to comment on the rumors.
Another trader said Sybase, a database software management company, was rising for the same reason -- because it was the subject of IBM takeover rumors.
Sybase surged 1-1/2 to 19 and was one of the most active stocks on the Nasdaq.
Still other traders vehemently disagreed with the Sybase/IBM combination, saying that speculation circulated last year and had no truth to it.
Wall Street Strategies newsletter cited a completely different reason behind Sybase's jump -- that it would soon be bought by database software company Oracle
Corp (ORCL).
Oracle shares were off 7/16 to 39-3/16.
Neither Sybase nor Oracle were immediately available for comment.
``These rumors are flying like crazy but they are just that -- rumors,'' said one trader. ``Once in a while one of them hits but these are all just going around the mill.''
Another trader said because of the relatively cheap price of Novell, more investors were willing to take short-term bets based on the speculation alone.
More news for referenced ticker symbols: IBM, NOVL, ORCL, SYBS, and related categories and industries: Computer-Hardware, Software, stock
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