Brocade a Stitch Closer to Cisco

Updated from 12:20 p.m. EST

Despite the recent slump in tech stocks, shares of storage equipment manufacturer Brocade(BRCD Quote) are creeping up after the firm clinched its $2.6 billion acquisition of switch specialist Foundry Networks(FDRY Quote) last month.

Like most tech firms, Brocade's shares took a severe pounding during the fall but have rallied recently as investors warmed to the Foundry deal. Brocade's stock rose Tuesday to close up 21 cents, or 6.33%, to $3.53, as the Nasdaq inched up 1.5%, although this is still well below the firm's 52-week high of $9.09.

Foundry's Ethernet technology is seen as boosting Brocade's ability to compete with networking giants Cisco(CSCO Quote) and Juniper Networks(JNPR Quote) , particularly in high-speed 10-Gbit/s Ethernet. With users looking to shift large volumes of data around their networks as quickly as possible, 10-Gbit/s Ethernet extends Brocade's reach beyond storage into data center networking. ...