[Investor Place] These tech companies held root while the market was blown away

The stock market has been a caldron of fear and losses over the past month, and the huge decline of more than 6.5% in the S&P 500 Index last week highlights the intensity of the storm on Wall Street. In fact, during the past month, the broad measure of the domestic market is down around 3% in what is shaping up to be one of the worst months for stocks in some time. Yet not all sectors of the market are suffering. (See my recent article, ��5 Smokin�� Hot High Yield Stocks.��)

Technology stocks, as measured by the Technology SPDR (ETF) (NYSE:XLK), actually are up 2% during the past month. The relative outperformance of tech vs. the broader market is impressive, but even more notable are the gains in some of the biggest and best tech stocks out there. Let��s take a look at the five best performers in XLK during the past month, as they represent high-tech stock shelters from the current market storm.

    

Tellabs Inc.

Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ:TLAB) provides equipment and services for communication services providers including AT&T (NYSE:T).?Tellabs has been aggressively targeting the mobile Internet market, as management sees this as the future. Investors have rewarded the shares of late — they��ve bid the stock up nearly 15% during the past month.

    

Micron Technology

Micron Technology‘s (NASDAQ:MU) products include dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips that provide data storage and retrieval for all sorts of devices including the ��ber-popular smartphones. MU shares recently received an upgrade from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) for responding to a slowdown for DRA! M chips with significant production cuts. Goldman says the move is an important part of stabilizing prices and continuing to generate DRAM profits going forward.

    

Yahoo

Internet search giant Yahoo‘s (NASDAQ:YHOO) shares have been on the move of late, and one reason is its position as a potential buyout candidate. The company recently hired investment bank Allen & Company to find potential opportunities and to field buyout inquiries. Earlier this month, Yahoo fired CEO Carol Bartz in a very public and ugly episode. That move, however, was a positive for investors, as the shares have surged more than 11% in the past month.

    

Red Hat

Red Hat (NYSE:RHT), the open source software firm, is showing its mettle as an earnings performer. Last week, the company reported fiscal Q2 revenue of $281 million, up 28% from the same quarter one year ago. The company also posted a 69.2% increase in earnings per share compared to a year ago. Red Hat��s enterprise Linux operating system is much less costly than rivals UNIX and Windows Server, and in an environment where corporations continue tightening their belts, Red Hat��s lower-priced offerings have become really attractive.

SanDisk

SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) makes and markets NAND-based flash data storage card products that are used in a huge variety of consumer electronics products. Earlier this month, SanDisk unveiled several new products including the Sansa Clip Zip MP3 music player, the latest addition to its popular SansaClip product line. Shares of SanDisk have been extremely popular with investors of late, as the stock has climbed about 20% in the past mont! h. That makes SNDK the top high-tech shelter from the selling storm.