As things are at their worst right now, it may be time to begin to
buy. The question is - Which equipment maker is the best choice?
I've decided to put my money into Mattson, whom I'm been looking
closely at for the past 9 months. What do I base this on? First,
since no one knows for sure when things will turn around, the
strength to ride it out. Looking at "Stock Market Leaders" 3Q96
from Price Waterhouse under "Strong Companies with Little/No
Debt" Mattson is listed with "0" long term debt and 27% cash as
a % of market. This puts Mattson in a position no only to ride
it out, but as recently announced, buy back stock. I expect
they will continue to do this if the stock to goes toward the
recent low. Second, strength of the management. No question
here, Brad Mattson (who founded NVLS, one of the better run
companies) has assembled a great team. Third, the core
strength of the company,providing top notch equipment &
service that is 1/2 to 1/3 of the nearest competitor. As
capital has become very tight, this becomes extremely
important and will allow them to grab market share.
The turnaround may be a few quarters off, maybe not, but I've in for
the long term.
Best of luck,
John Stewart |
