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Non-Tech : Ashton Technology (ASTN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Gardality who wrote (1833)	6/22/1999 1:54:00 AM
From: mst2000	Respond to of 4443

Steve - a few responses: First of all, the price trend on ASTN since last Monday has generally been positive - a move from 6 21/32 at its low on Monday (6/14) to 8 7/8 today (with the stock trading over 9 most of the day today) represents a 30% improvement after a very dramatic sell off. So the stock is NOT moving lower - unless you rewind about 6 trading days. Second, especially after a sell-off where the stock eventually closed at more than 50% less than an all time high close only a week or two earlier, it is natural (no, inevitable) to expect considerable tentativeness by potential investors, even investors who have been long on the stock. The rumor concerned possible delay in VTS launch, and to be fair, focused on a possible long term delay. Though the company insists that launch will occur in July, all longs recognize that the PHLX sets the date, and few have any great faith in anything the PHLX does at this point. Until the rumor of a potential long term delay in VTS launch is put to rest, prospective investors in ATG will continue to exercise caution. Who can blame them - the possibility of a subtext that is not publicly known cannot be dismissed (indeed, it's all the shorts seem to talk about). In 2-3 weeks, when PHLX makes its public announcement regarding a launch date, and then, after that launch occurs, the need for caution will abate considerably and buyers now on the sidelines will pull the trigger and get in. Frankly, this is reminiscent of where ATG was in February of this year, only at a higher pitch. In December, after the SEC approved Reg ATS and announced a 4/21 effective date for that Reg, ASTN's share price popped from about 1 to 3 (or even higher, if I recall correctly). It then backed off to under $2, because uncertainty set in once again -- until late March, when the SEC formally approved the PHLX Rule 237 amendment which permitted VTS to go on-line legally. Since then, ASTN's share price rose steadily to about $7.50, and then spiked again (to 15-16) over news stories of a possible merger between the NYSE and the PHLX. When those stories petered out, to no apparent effect, and rumors of a delay surfaced, the stock got hammered. Soon, the reality of VTS going on line will no longer be a matter of conjecture, and once that happens, some normalcy should return to investor attitudes about ATG. I am about as "long" in ASTN as it gets (as I'm sure Auric and Dr. Suess can attest), and even I admit to being a little shaken by the hammering the stock took over the past two weeks, ending a week ago Monday. If you do not think that "investor confidence" won't be boosted by a PHLX launch announcement, and actual on-line status, and that the boost won't affect the stock's price, then maybe you should ask yourself why Auric and Doc closed out their short positions last week. MST