Cloud software company $Gitlab (GTLB.US)$ is exploring a potential sale after receiving acquisition interest, according to sources familiar with the matter, according to a Reuters report. Google parent $Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ holds a 22.2% voting stake in GitLab through its venture capital arm.

GitLab, which has a market value of about $8 billion, is working with investment bankers to manage the sale process, which has garnered interest from peers, including cloud monitoring firm $Datadog (DDOG.US)$, Reuters reports.

Deal-making in the technology sector is on the rise, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

GitLab CEO and co-founder Sid Sijbrandij recently announced that he is undergoing treatment for osteosarcoma, a form of cancer, for the second time.

Equity research analysts on and off Wall Street typically use earnings growth and fundamental research as a form of valuation and forecasting. But many in trading turn to technical analysis as a way to form predictive models for share price trajectory.

Some investors look to trends to help forecast where they believe a stock could trade at a certain point in the future. Looking at GitLab, an investor could make an assessment about a stock's long term prospects using a moving average and trend line. If they believe a stock will remain above the moving average, which many believe is a bullish signal, they can extrapolate that trend into the future using a trend line. For GitLab, the 200-day moving average sits at $55.6, according to Benzinga Pro, which is above the current price of $54.96. For more on charts and trend lines, see a description here.

Traders believe that when a stock is above its moving average, it is a generally bullish signal, and when it crosses below, it is a more negative signal. Investors could use trend lines to make an educated guess about where a stock could trade at a later date if conditions remain stable.