Linux Push, New Product Drive Up MTI Stock Price

Investors, encouraged both by a new MTI Technology Corp. product and the company’s ongoing expansion into the software arena, drove MTI’s stock Tuesday to a 52-week high of $34.63 a share.

The stock price spiked even higher during the day, hitting $35.69 a share amid heavy trading, before dropping a bit to close with a gain of $1.38 for the day.

The Anaheim maker of information-storage products for computer systems said Tuesday that it has released a software program that will improve access to information on the Internet.

The company’s PathFinder software works to correct problems that can crop up as data flows between storage servers and the computer network.

Since MTI’s decision last spring to buy a minority stake in a leading developer of Linux-based software, the Orange County company’s stock price has skyrocketed.

In October 1998, MTI shares had dropped to $3.19, their low for the past two years.

MTI has pushed to build Linux, which currently is used mainly by computer enthusiasts and computer infrastructure areas, into an operating system used by mainstream businesses in critical operations.