A Market Stuck in Neutral (Opinions of Sam Stovall, senior investment strategist for Standard & Poor's)
biz.yahoo.com
"...Q: Can tech companies and Net companies [AOL, for one] survive?
A: Yes, tech will survive. And to the best of our knowledge, AOL will survive. Despite the volatile start for the year, we still believe technology is a sector that will likely improve as the year progresses. Ignoring today's setback for software companies, we still believe several are poised to perform quite nicely.
Our favorites include Citrix Systems (NasdaqNM:CTXS - news), Electronic Arts (NasdaqNM:ERTS - news), Intuit (NasdaqNM:INTU - news), and Siebel Systems (NasdaqNM:SEBL - news). We also favor semiconductor equipment and chip stocks, including Brooks Automation (NasdaqNM:BRKS - news) and Microchip Technology (NasdaqNM:MCHP - news). We currently have a 4-STAR [accumulate] ranking on the AOL Time Warner shares. Q: Are those 5-STAR buys on the STARS list -- other than AOL's 4-STARS? And take a moment to explain STARS, if you will.
A: All of those companies just mentioned are on the S&P 5-STARS list. STARS is S&P's Stock Appreciation Ranking System. S&P's 50 equity analysts rank 1,100 stocks on a buy, hold, and sell basis.
Those with the best price-appreciation prospects over the coming 6 to 12 months receive 5-STARS. Those likely to keep pace with the overall market receive 3-STARS. Those likely to underperform the market receive a 1-STAR ranking. Since being introduced in 1987, S&P 5-STARS have posted a 17.8% average annual return through Feb. 28, 2002, vs. 10.5% for the S&P 500-stock index and 1.3% for 1-STAR stocks...." |
