The fervor over COMS is REAL:3Com is trying to improve itself and Wall Street's opinion of the
company, said Craig Johnson, principal at The PITA Group, in Portland,
Ore.
"A week ago 3Com finally took action to cordon off their [network
interface card]and modem business," Johnson said. "They seem to be
taking action to distance themselves from their low-margin business."
3Com's stock fell in February following the company's preannouncement
that its third quarter earnings would be lower than expected.
"The rumors are very credible," said Jim Slaby, an analyst at Giga
Information Group, in Cambridge, Mass. "I think now is the right time to
do it."
Overall, 3Com is a strong networking company, analysts said.
The problem is it has disparate products aimed at disparate markets,
Slaby said, pointing to the market differences between the Palm
Computing handhelds, switches, remote-access servers, and
client-access products.
(c) 1999 CMP Media Inc. |
