This from the Yahoo board.. confirmation of Ingram's holdings and it's value.
DJ Ingram Micro Up 11%; Analysts Cite Stake In Softbank >IM
Dow Jones News Service ~ February 15, 2000 ~ 3:54 pm EST
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 02-15-00
03:53 PM DJ Ingram Micro Up-2:Softbank Shares On 'Tremendous Run'>IM
LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones)--Ingram Micro Inc. (IM) shares rose 12.6% Tuesday, adding to Monday's 8.3% gain, as investors focused in on the battered technology distributor's nearly one-million-share stake in Japan's Softbank Corp. (J.SFT).
"Softbank has had a tremendous run recently," said Joel Pitt, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. "A lot of people are looking at that as an additional value enhancement (to Ingram's stock)."
Ingram's shares gained 1 3/4 on Tuesday to close at 15 11/16 on the NYSE. Heavy volume of 3.4 million shares compared with average daily volume of 624, 500.
Ingram, of Santa Ana, Calif., held about $330 million of Softbank stock at the end of the third quarter, Pitt estimates. He believes the value of the holding has swelled to over $1.5 billion.
"Softbank's stock is now at $1700," said Tom Cal, an analyst with Wit Soundview in Stamford, Conn.
Ingram is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. Analysts expect to get an update from the company on its Softbank investment, as well as on its search for a new chief executive.
Additionally, Cal said, some investors are starting to get excited about Ingram's investment in a start-up called Viacore.net, a planned "hub" that will be used to facilitate implementation of a new common language for the distribution industry, called RosettaNet.
Ingram, which didn't return calls, has been trading near its 52-week low of 10, reached Oct. 1, for some time.
The company, though still profitable, has seen gross margins decline as weaker competitors cut prices. In this jittery environment, the company's mum stance on earnings guidance hasn't helped its stock.
"Nobody knows a damn thing," Pitt said.
Pitt's own estimate for Ingram's fourth quarter is for earnings of 23 cents a share, in line with the Wall Street consensus.
In the fourth quarter of 1998, Ingram earned $73.2 million, or 49 cents a share, on sales of $6.2 billion. The results included a non-cash compensation charge of $901,000.
-Anthony Palazzo, Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3776
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 02-15-00
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