Tuesday's Tech Winners & Losers

Updated from 12:34 p.m.

Tech stocks moved higher on Tuesday, as merger news sparked shares of several companies.

CT Communications(CTCI Quote) vaulted 45.5% after the telecom services company agreed to be acquired by Windstream(WIN Quote) for $585 million in cash, or $31.50 a share. The price represents a 46% premium to CT's closing price of $21.58 on Friday. The deal is expected to close during the second half of 2007. Shares of CT closed up $9.81 to $31.39, while shares of Windstream were down 2 cents $14.90.

Elsewhere, Netflix(NFLX Quote) fell 3% after Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform. The firm, which has a $24 price target on Netflix, said that the share price could be range-bound for a period of time, while Blockbuster(BBI Quote) ramps up competitive pressure. Shares of Netflix were recently down 67 cents to $21.85. Blockbuster, meanwhile, was up 5 cents to $4.48.

Meanwhile, On Track Innovations(OTIV Quote) fell 6.5% after the maker of smart cards posted a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss. The company reported an adjusted loss of $2.5 million, or 14 cents a share, on revenue of $10.4 million. Analysts expected a loss of 6 cents a share on revenue of $10.1 million. Shares were down 50 cents to $7.25.

CDW(CDWC Quote) rose 10% after a published report said the company could be an acquisition target. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the situation, said that private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners is considering an acquisition of the computer products seller. Shares of CDW closed up $7.55 to $83.11.

Finally, Multimedia Games(MGAM Quote) rose 6.6% after the maker of electronic gambling machines announced plans to buy up to $25 million in stock as part of a Dutch auction. The company plans to buy shares at prices ranging from $12.25 to $13.50 a share. "The modified Dutch auction self-tender is designed to return capital to shareholders within the covenants provided in the company's new revolving credit facility," the company said. Shares closed up 78 cents to $12.65.

As for the broader technology sector, the Nasdaq 100 was up 10.54 points to 1899.79.