Ticker Talk

Linux fever shows no sign of subsiding. The expected price range for this week’s IPO of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based VA Linux Systems Inc. (LNUX) was increased to $21 to $23 a share, from the original $11 to $13, by lead underwriter Credit Suisse First Boston. VA Linux plans to sell 4.4 million shares. And shares of Durham, N.C.-based Red Hat Inc. (RHAT), which sells a commercial version of Linux, surged 22% on Tuesday after it expanded a distribution agreement with Dell Computer Corp. Red Hat catapulted $52 to close at $284.13 on Nasdaq. The company said Monday it has revised an accord with Dell, the No. 1 direct seller of personal computers, which will ship Red Hat’s software on its PowerEdge servers. Dell rose 63 cents Tuesday to close at $45.38, also on Nasdaq. . . . Speaking of hot: Firsthand Funds, a Silicon Valley money manager focused on high-tech companies, said Tuesday it closed its Technology Innovators Fund to new investors as its assets reached $450 million. The firm said last month it would close the fund when it reached the current level, underlining the boom in investor interest in the Internet. The fund has returned 128% since its introduction in late January.