H-P Rumor Heats Symantec

Market chatter about a possible buyout of IT security giant Symantec(SYMC Quote), and an analyst report suggesting that the company may be undervalued, drove Symantec shares up nearly 4%.

With large IT players seeking to round off their portfolios by adding a strong line of security products, market buzz that Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote) could be eyeing Symantec drove up investor interest in the stock Monday.

Symantec is also trading at a significant discount to its peers, wrote analysts Brian Freed and Paul Gillespie in a Morgan Keegan research report. Morgan Keegan makes a market in Symantec shares. ...