Market Watch: Behind a Closed Door
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
Excerpt:
Information is the currency at such conferences, sponsored by Wall Street firms. Investors attend in the hope that they will get some data to give them an edge in their investments. Companies present their stories to try to attract new buyers to their stocks or to keep current holders happy.
One of the companies at the Bear Stearns show was Micron Technology, a big maker of semiconductor products used in computers and other electronics. With demand for its chips down and their prices in free fall, Micron is struggling.
Kipp A. Bedard, vice president for corporate affairs at Micron, made its presentation at the meeting. He acknowledged the chip glut and price collapse, but said the company thought the second half could show improvement. His comments came about a week before Micron was set to announce its third-quarter results in a conference call.
Mr. Bedard also conducted closed-door sessions with select investors during the conference. Such sessions, known as one-on- ones, are common at the gatherings and usually involve a handful of investors.
According to an investor in attendance, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Mr. Bedard told one small group that Micron would take a sizable inventory write-down in the third quarter but that the company planned to sell the goods at a later date, giving a cushion to profit margins at that time.
The investing public did not hear of Micron's write-down until about a week later. On June 21, Micron announced its results: a net loss of $301 million from operations, including a write-down of $260 million.
whole story at nytimes.com |
