Tech Stocks in Motion

Updated from 12:56 p.m. EDT

Inet Technologies(INET) was among several stocks hovering near the top of the technology leader board Wednesday after the company agreed to be acquired by Tektronix(TEK) for about $325 million in cash and stock.

Tektronix will buy Inet for $6.25 a share in cash and $6.25 a share in stock, for a total of $12.50 a share. The transaction is expected to be break-even to slightly dilutive in fiscal 2005, and it's expected to close on or about September 30. The acquisition will allow Tektronix to accelerate the delivery of network products and solutions to customers who are implementing various next-generation technologies. Shares of Inet Technologies traded up $1.77, or 16.5%, to $12.47.

Shares of Research In Motion(RIMM) jumped after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and upped its guidance for the second and third quarters. Excluding a charge, first-quarter earnings came in at 36 cents a share on sales of $269.6 million, an increase of 158% vs. a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were looking for first-quarter earnings of 32 cents a share on sales of $263.6 million.

Looking ahead, the company expects to report pro forma earnings of 40 cents to 45 cents a share during the second quarter on sales of $290 million to $310 million. Analysts had been expecting it to report earnings of 36 cents a share on sales of $288.3 million. Fourth-quarter earnings, meanwhile, are now expected to be 45 cents to 50 cents a share on sales of $340 million to $360 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 40 cents a share on sales of $309 million. Shares of Research In Motion traded up $9.07, or 15.3%, to $68.45.

Electro Scientific(ESIO) rose after the company swung to a fourth-quarter profit that easily surpassed analysts' expectations. Fourth-quarter earnings of 54 cents a share on sales of $81.8 million compared favorably with the 16 cents a share that analysts had expected. A year ago the company reported a loss of 75 cents a share. Shares of Electro Scientific traded up $4.31, or 18%, to $28.31.