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To: Ian@SI who wrote (1488)	7/13/1999 12:28:00 AM
From: Q.	Respond to of 3661

competitor GSNX was up 9% today when Bloomberg put out this story, based on an interview with the GSNX CEO. Note that its says GSNX will exceed the high end of analyst revenue forecasts due to growing demand for its strip tools. I suspect this means that MTSN's strip tools are also seeing significant orders. GaSonics Expects Smaller-Than-Forecast 3rd-Qtr Loss (Update1) (Updates with closing share price.) San Jose, California, July 12 (Bloomberg) -- GaSonics International Corp., a maker of specialized equipment for the semiconductor industry, expects to report a smaller fiscal third- quarter loss than analysts now forecast, Chief Executive Asuri Raghavan said. GaSonics is expected to lose 19 cents a share for the quarter that ended in June, the average estimate of four analysts polled by First Call Corp. Raghavan said the loss probably will be smaller than that, and sales will exceed $17 million, the high end of forecasts. The company's shares rose 1 1/8 to 15 3/8. GaSonics is benefiting as semiconductor companies move to making chips with smaller wires. As line widths shrink to 0.18 microns from 0.25, the equipment that GaSonics makes to remove a material called photoresist from chips becomes more important. ''For us, 0.18 microns is a reality,'' said Raghavan. ''Our customers have tested new equipment and are ramping production.'' Photoresist is used to draw the circuits on a chip that later become its wiring. If the material isn't removed well, the leftover residue may hinder a chip's performance. Raghavan said orders are strong for the newest GaSonics product, the Iridia. He expects the company to report a book-to- bill ratio of 1.25 to 1.3 for the recent quarter. A ratio of 1.3 would mean that GaSonics took in $130 in orders for every $100 of equipment it shipped. Raghavan also said the San Jose, California, company will break even or possibly report a small profit in the current quarter. The average First Call estimate is for earnings of 2 cents a share, with analyst forecasts ranging from profit of 7 cents to a loss of 2 cents.

To: Ian@SI who wrote (1488)	7/13/1999 10:04:00 PM
From: Jerome	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3661

Interesting Option Possibility with MTSN. As of today the AUG 12 1/2 are trading at 1 3/8 by 1 1/2. These are just barely in the money and with a good earnings report the stock will move above its recent high of 13 3/8. To help this stock along there are two Semi BTB reports between tomorrow and options expiration on the 20th of August. This option play will not be a five bagger. But it could trade at three if MTSN gets back to 14 dollars a share. It does suffer from illiquidity, so what to do? Buy the option at what you consider a fair price and then immediately place a sell order at three good till cancelled. If things go poorly, it is still likely that MTSN will remain above 12 1/2 and hopefully most of your investment will be recovered. Don't bet the house on this, but its a reasonably conservative option play that I believe will work out. Its not a home run but can enhance your return for the month. I refer to these as a two-bit option plays, and have done many of them profitably in the last six months. Good luck, Jerome