3 Little-Known Tech Stocks in Hedge Fund Spotlight

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Data-storage companies EMC(EMC), NetApp(NTAP) and CommVault(CVLT) may not be as sexy as Apple(AAPL), but are attracting plenty of attention from hedge fund managers.

EMC recently reported record quarterly results, driven by cloud storage and the ongoing strength of its VMware(VMW) virtualization subsidiary. One of tech's more consistent performers, EMC's share have risen more than 23% this year, far outpacing the Nasdaq's 12% gain.

NetApp is another storage firm in the spotlight after putting out strong third-quarter results after market close on Wednesday, citing improved demand from large customers. NetApp's stock is up more than 17% this year.

Here are some of the big-name fund managers adding to or subtracting their storage positions, according to 13F documents recently filed with the SEC:

James Simons, Renaissance Technologies -- Star hedge fund manager and former code-breaker Simons added 3.67 million EMC shares, taking his position to just over 3.9 million shares. Renaissance also added 138,000 shares of storage software specialist CommVault, although he slashed his NetApp stake by more than 1.8 million shares.

Steven Cohen, SAC Capital Advisors -- Cohen's fund added 291,993 shares of EMC, taking its position in the storage giant to over 665,000 shares. SAC Capital Advisors also grabbed 551,852 NetApp shares, leaving the company with over 667,000 shares of the storage maker at Dec. 31, 2011.

Ken Griffin, Citadel Advisors -- The Chicago-based hedge fund reduced its EMC position by 148,223 shares, taking its stake to just over 2.7 million shares. Griffin got rid of even more NetApp stock, cutting his stake by 1.2 million shares, leaving the fund with a little over 1.7 million shares. Citadel, however, added 110,195 shares of CommVault, taking its stake to 280,866 shares.

David Shaw, D.E. Shaw & Co. -- The hedge fund giant slashed its EMC stake by 1.28 million shares, leaving it with just under 1.4 million shares. D.E. Shaw, however, slightly increased its stake in NetApp, adding 35,948 shares, bringing the firm's position to 384,100.

Israel Englander, Millennium Management -- Englander's Millennium Management added 1.23 million EMC shares, taking the company's position to over 1.4 million shares at Dec. 31, 2011.

EMC shares rose 2.51% to $27.33 on Thursday, while NetApp surged 5.28% to $42.01. CommVault's stock crept up 0.35% to $54.16.

>>To see these stocks in action, visit the 3 Little-Known Tech Stocks in Hedge Fund Spotlight portfolio on Stockpickr.

--Written by James Rogers in New York.

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