I understand your position perfectly, and my point is that every fund, every broker has sold EMC, can't get fired for buying EMC. This is not easily read into the stock price, but it is there. Yes, the storage market is currently divided into the price sectors, and NTAP will over the intermediate term outperform EMC, just because EMC is swollen (better than bloated, my apologies) with the kingdom ruling inefficiencies of a long-time no competition market. The large players will continue to rely on EMC, until scalability can be demonstrated by NTAP. Not that I do not want to play every company in this sector, but I must limit myself to the company best suited to grow. The dividend EMC pays is another factor that puts weight around the company's stock price, keeping it from dropping as it might otherwise. This dividend is taxed prior to distribution, and then taxed again when it hits a stockholders' account. This is a holdover from previous business models, not current for this market.
I would hold EMC if I were wealthy enough to diversify into anything less than the best grower. Sorry for using the word 'bloated', as I usually reserve that word for ATT. EMC is nowhere near their level of inefficiencies (sp?). Martin Thomas |
