Tech Winners & Losers: GameStop

Tech stocks started the week on a high note, with the Nasdaq soaring 7.1% on Monday after surviving a ceaseless pummeling last week.

Investors gained confidence on Monday as governments around the globe pulled together emergency aid packages to shore up their banks.

The Nasdaq gained 116 points to 1766 in recent trading.

Shares of GameStop(GME Quote) climbed 10.3% to $32.11 after Piper Jaffray upgraded the stock to buy from neutral based on its valuation and fundamentals. The firm notes that GameStop is trading around 10 times its 2009 earnings estimates despite a 40% earnings growth this year and a projected 18% earnings growth in 2009.

At the same time, Piper Jaffray cut its price target to $35 from $50.

Shares of Vishay Intertechnology(VSH Quote) were up 21.4% to $5.33 after the company decided to drop its unsolicited bid for International Rectifier(IRF Quote).

Vishay had offered to buy International Rectifier for $23 a share, but was rebuffed. Shares of International Rectifier on Monday shot up 10.8% to $22.35.

Shares of Sun Microsystems(JAVA Quote) were up 12.1% to $5.38 after the company unveiled a new line of server systems intended to optimize the performance of its multi-brained chip.

Micron Technology(MU Quote) shares were up 13.2% to $4.02 after reaching an agreement with Qimonda(QI Quote) to purchase its 35.6% stake in Inotera Memories, a joint venture with Taiwan's Nanya Technology, for $400 million.

Micron said it has obtained $285 million in term loan financing commitments to help fund the purchase.

Cisco(CSCO Quote) shares jumped 5.9% to $18.25 after JMP Securities upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. The firm expects Cisco to benefit from an ongoing effort to expand information technology networks, especially overseas.