Cisco's perky survivalists
Investors stand by their ailing stock
By Shawn Langlois, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:01 PM ET Mar 12, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - The unflappable resiliency of Cisco's online crew never ceases to amaze me.
Here we are - the Nasdaq has broken through the 2000 mark, Cisco recently announced that the company would be trimming up to 11 percent of its workforce, and the stock just established a new 52-week low. See full story.
Enough to make a grown man cry.
Still, Cisco longs continue to tout, cheer, and sing the praises of the one-time stock juggernaut despite every reason in the fiscal world to gather up the family, order up 10 pounds of white rice and head to the outback, Survivor-style.
Judging from the bull flag that still proudly flew during Monday's putrid trading session, longs are prepared to stick it out ... especially on CBS MarketWatch's Cisco board, where Stoc4Me and his cronies discarded the bad news:
"There's a floor and there's a ceiling ... we're trying to buy in at the floor and ride the profit elevator to the ceiling. Friends ... that time is now. Cisco is ripe for the picking. The company is sitting on almost 10 billion cash ... the balance sheet is debt free ... THE GAME IS STILL BUY LOW AND SELL HIGH, but it takes courage -- your pie in the sky is on the table now!"
And more of the same from Tym211: "Of course this is a good time to buy. The products they supply are completely necessary to continue to support the ever-expanding growth of the Internet. A recent study showed that the amount of Internet users doubles every 100 days -- the worldwide leader in networking equipment will remain at the top of its game. They've just begun to get into wireless and optical sales, which will be big money makers in the future."
HunterBentley also chimed the buying gong: "The stock is at an all time perfect price to buy! This company is going to be around for many years to come. They're targeting overseas markets where theInternet is just now getting to be in the 1998 US Hyper-phase Of Growth, This spells $$$ ... the key leaders of Cisco are ahead of the curve."
But the bullish tide wasn't confined to MarketWatch, nearly every community on the Web had more than its share of pom-pom shakers.
Take Mephistos on The Motley Fool who tried not to get too wrapped up in the "buy now" enthusiasm ... but couldn't quite help himself: "Cheerleading has done nothing for CSCO, or any other tech lately. Call me silly, though, 'cause I keep buying to try and average my price down as much as possible. Cisco (CSCO: news, msgs, alerts) will eventually go up, and it is an attractive vixen of a stock, but will the returns be as good as something boring like Tootsie Roll?"
Then there's TinWhacko, living up to his cyber-handle over on Raging Bull: "WOULD LOVE TO BUY MORE CSCO now.... unfortunately all of my $$ is tied up in cash! The craze, the fever is running rampant ...CNBC is dedicated to CSCO -- scaring watchers ... Greenspam can hardly talk anymore ... people lining up to rent balconies on tall buildings ... Nostradamus is giving a speech tonight and passing out free poison pills ... just hope things straighten out, soon as they ALWAYS do, and we get back to the meat & potatoes of 'investing'"
I think that means he's bullish on the stock, right?
At any rate, the morgue-ish tone that has suffocated nearly all optimistic banter across the Net hasn't quite snuffed out Cisco enthusiasm, whether manufactured or truly bullish ... yet.
However, I have a feeling a few more days like Monday just might do the trick ... hopefully it doesn't come to that. |
