>Lehman is WCOM's biggest bull, said WorldCom is "firing on all cylinders."
here's an excerpt from that lehman bro's report. note that it's dated last week and two disclosures apply.
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MCI WorldCom, Inc: Raise Price Target to $85. All Cylinders Firing. BUY
Author: Blake Bath 1(202)452-4732
Rating: 1
Rank (Old): 1-Buy
Rank (New): 1-Buy
Price : $69 5/16
52wk Range: $65-28
Price Target (Old): $75
Price Target (New): $85
Today's Date 12/21/98
Revenue (1999): $36 Bil.
Return On Equity (98): 5. %
Proj. 5yr EPS Grth: 25.0%
Shares Outstanding: 1900.0 Mil.
Dividend Yield: N/A
Mkt Capitalization: 120 Bil.
P/E 1998; 1999 : 78.3 X; 32.5 X
Current Book Value: $14.71/sh
Convertible: None
Debt-to-Capital: 35.9%
Disclosure(s): C, A
* We are raising our 1999 year-end price target to $85 per share, or 30 times our 2000 earnings per share estimate.
* Meetings last week with senior management instilled confidence that network and operating synergies are being achieved, and that salesforce productivity is improving.
* We believe that MCI WorldCom occupies a fairly unique territory as a mega-capitalization revenue, cash flow, and EPS growth story.
* We expect strong valuation improvement in 1999 as evidence of the merger synergies materializes.
* We believe both MCI WorldCom and AT&T (T - 73, 1 Buy) are exceptionally well-positioned to benefit from significant declines in their cost structures, and customer demands for broad product lines delivered on-net. We rate both a BUY.
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION: MCI WorldCom is the second largest long distance company in the US. It has assets in the key growth areas of telecom services including local, international, data/Internet and very strong management.
Disclosure Legend: A-Lehman Brothers Inc. managed or co-managed within the past three years a public offering of securities for this company. B-An employee of Lehman Brothers Inc. is a director of this company. C-Lehman Brothers Inc. makes a market in the securities of this company. G-The Lehman Brothers analyst who covers this company also has position in its securities. |
