Roundup: Level 3, Limelight, Akamai, Hitachi

Shares of Level 3 (LVLT) gained 22.7 percent Wednesday after the company's earnings beat Wall Street's expectations. Level 3 reported revenue of $1.09 billion, while analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected revenue of $1.06 billion. Level 3 rose 54 cents to $2.91 a share.

Will the patent infringement lawsuit between Akamai (AKAM) and Limelight (LLNW) open the door to telecom companies gaining a larger foothold in the content delivery business? Dan Rayburn says "it is just a matter of when Limelight will be acquired by a telco and not if." AT&T (T) and BT have been the leading suitors, and Rayburn believes Limelight has been offered $8 a share (the stock closed Wednesday at $2.91). He says there is a "good chance" Akamai will win a permanent injunction against Limelight, which would then seek and receive a stay that would prolong the case for at least another year - perhaps nudging the number two CDN into the arms of a telco suitor.

Hitachi Data Systems announced that it will be adding expansion space to its Yokohama, Japan data center that will be the "greenest data center ever." The Register has a review of the project, which is featured in a photo set on Flickr.