Summit Research analyst Srini Nandury attributes the 30% rise in Nimble Storage (NMBL) shares since the beginning of April to speculation of a takeover. Nandury calls Nimble "THE acquisition candidate" and thinks any buyout offer would likely trigger a bidding war. The analyst believes companies like NetApp (NTAP), EMC (EMC) and Cisco (CSC) are looking to acquire next generation storage assets. Nandury says Nimble is "one of the best Hybrid storage assets in the market" and reiterates a Buy rating on the stock with a $40 price target. Shares of Nimble closed yesterday up 49c to $27.59. The analyst estimates a buyout price of above $40 per share should Nimble be up for sale.