Hi Osiris,
Interesting comment, thanks
Checked Friday's action on SI's "Group" site for equip co. price gains, and interestingly SMTL was in top 5:
Tencor +27.1%
Gasonics +25.8
CFM Tech +22.2
SMTL +20.8
AMAT +20.7
Average gain was around 12% for the sector
Reason I got into SMTL at $9 is it represented
real value on earnings basis in relation to
AMAT and the others, but I am still surprised
at such a huge move. I wonder who is driving the
market; the price has held up so far while others are
receding. Your point is well taken about poor
investor relations you experienced. Maybe this
new thread will help get their attn. On the
other hand maybe its not a bad thing if management is sticking to their daily business. They still should have a mechanism to get out their story. My info is mainly
financial reports, 10Q's so far.
As for price, SMTL went public only in Feb 95. It seems to be a common pattern to have immediate
runup in price only to fall off over time. It is
common advice to wait for IPO's price to reach support level before buying. My guess is it reached
it at $8.50-$9. If I were in your position, I would
dollar cost average down if your research warrants it. This is what I did, I had a small position at $14 and now my average is around 10.50. About backlog: the increase in inventory represents work in progress from what they are saying, so it appears to be a priority. What is attractive about this co is demand for their new products which appears to insulate them somewhat from the downturn.
Dick Roy engr@erols.com |
