Alcatel (ALA) and France Message Board

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Technology Stocks : Alcatel (ALA) and France

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To: Steve Rolfe who wrote (1041)	12/6/1999 1:22:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) of 3891

FOCUS-Upbeat meeting pushes Alcatel to new peaks By Dominique Vidalon PARIS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Telecom equipment maker Alcatel shares raced to fresh highs on Friday as investors took an upbeat view of the group's ability to benefit from a booming telecom industry. New optimism on Alcatel, which has underperformed a buoyant sector, was triggered by an analysts meeting that prompted several brokers to raise their ratings or price targets. At 1314 GMT Alcatel was up 6.62 percent at 209.5 euros after setting a record high of 213.5 euros intraday. With the latest gains Alcatel has risen over 95 percent since January and 34 percent since mid-November when strong third quarter results propped up a stock that had lagged its sector. BNP Equities analyst Francois Travaille, who just raised his target for Alcatel to 230 euros from 210 euros and kept it on his recommended list, said the meeting showed Alcatel was catching up in the technology race against its rivals and was ready to handle a booming telecom market. ''The question until now had been whether Alcatel really was part of the technology race and it confirmed at the meeting that it was ready to provide telecom operators with innovative solutions and forge strong bonds with clients,'' he said. J.P. Morgan also raised Alcatel to ''strong buy'' from ''market performer'' with a target of 250 euros in line with CAI Cheuvreux recent target. Alcatel was also part of the six French stocks singled out by Societe Generale for its preferred list for 2000. CIC/EIFB said in an investor report that Alcatel demonstrated it was ''credible'' in the technology race, confirming its strength in high-growth products such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) and optical technologies. ADSL technology permits faster access to Internet services than normal phone connections while still using existing copper wires. Alcatel is on CIC/EIFB ''top ten'' list with a target of 240 euros. In an investor report Goldman Sachs maintained its ''market performer'' rating on Alcatel, saying the meeting was ''notable as one of first instances when management was more open with investors.'' At the meeting Alcatel made no change to targets for 1999 or 2000, which Goldman said remained ''modest next to those of peers in ?booming industry.'' Alcatel reported in mid-November third-quarter operating profit of 296 million euros and said it was on track to hit full-year 1999 and 2000 forecasts. It has forecast operating margin of 6.5 percent for 2000.

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