NEW YORK (AP) — EMC’s stock was surging in premarket trading on October 8, 2015, on reports of a potential deal between Dell and the data storage company.

James Kisner of Jefferies believes that the most likely possibilities are EMC buying Dell or a merger between the two businesses. The analyst thinks Dell buying EMC or EMC going private is unlikely, considering EMC’s size.

Kisner wrote that a combination of Dell and EMC would make sense because the larger business that would be created would be able to better compete against companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

While Dell’s personal computer segment may not be overly attractive to EMC, Kisner says its server position and software could prove useful.

Dell Inc., based in Round Rock, TX, went private in 2013.

Shares of Hopkinton, MA-based EMC Corp. rose $1.54, or 5.9 percent, to $27.50 before the market open.

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