In a note issued before the open, Raymond James analysts Brian Alexander and Adam Tindle said they believe HP (HPQ) will ultimately buy EMC (EMC), including VMware (VMW), and that HP CEO Meg Whitman and EMC CEO Joe Tucci have been talking. Such a deal makes sense for "so many reasons," they contend, citing HP's ability to strengthen its position in cloud, converged infrastructure, analytics and mobility with such a transaction. At a takeout price of $32-$33 per share, a takeover of EMC would be manageable for HP from a pro forma leverage standpoint, the analyst added. Raymond James has a Market Perform rating on HP, a Strong Buy rating on EMC and an Outperform rating on VMware.