What's the best tech stock? Microsoft vs. Cisco

Published Wed, Mar 18 20155:50 PM EDTUpdated Wed, Mar 18 20155:56 PM EDT

Two dinosaur technology stocks squared off against each other on "Fast Money," as part of the show's Madness challenge. The traders debated Microsoft vs. Cisco which have both had their struggles this year. Microsoft more so as its shares are down almost 9 percent for 2015 after it said very few businesses were upgrading Windows and that PC sales would be less than expected. But Pete Najarian is a believer in Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "The aggressive transition is on the attack," said Najarian. "Satya's focus is all in the growth areas: mobile, cloud, big data and analytics." Steve Grasso agreed as the trader sees attractive value with Microsoft's dividend yield at 3 percent and a buyback underway. "Microsoft is building momentum, it looks like the near term bottom is in," said Grasso. Read More What's the better chip stock? Intel vs Qualcomm But Brian Kelly disagrees. The hedge fund manager believes growth in internet streaming will benefit Cisco, which lays the pipe for that web traffic. "They are both dirty shirts, but Microsoft is done with its CEO honeymoon period," said Kelly. Karen Finerman agreed with Kelly, saying about Cisco's CEO, "I have never heard John Chambers this bullish" before. So we had a stand-off on the Fast Money desk. After the traders' vigorous debate, it came down to viewers' Twitter votes to determine the winner. Viewers selected Cisco. How it works: For this year's Fast Money Madness Challenge, 16 technology companies square off against each other. Eight of the leading stocks in the S & P information technology index will go up against eight of the laggards. For the next three weeks on "Fast Money" (5 p.m. ET), the four panelists will vigorously debate the stock matchups in our bracket. CNBC Pro subscribers will get exclusive access to previews of each matchup before the show. There will never be any ties because the viewers' Twitter vote counts as the fifth trader. The winner of each matchup will move on to the next round. Before each game to be played that night, just tweet your ticker picks to @cnbcfastmoney using the hashtag #fastmoneymadness. Then watch "Fast Money" each night to see your how your pick does in the game.

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Two dinosaur technology stocks squared off against each other on "Fast Money," as part of the show's Madness challenge.