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Technology Stocks : Altaba Inc. (formerly Yahoo) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KeepItSimple who wrote (23420)	8/3/1999 2:15:00 PM
From: aaplcat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27307

I think YHOO will close at the low (but I'm not Nostradamus either...)

To: KeepItSimple who wrote (23420)	8/3/1999 2:16:00 PM
From: RDR	Respond to of 27307

Must Read "Importance of Underwriters..." The bad news is that the pain in the Net isn't over. The good news is that like everything else on the Net, it tends to happen swiftly, without the slow water torture that other bear markets have. How will we tell there is a bottom? The same way we found bottoms before in this sector: The underwritings will tell us. You have to see deals fail. You have to see issuers say they think these prices are too low. You have to see supply dry up. Why is this underwriting bugaboo so important? For one simple reason: Nobody willingly becomes a cannibal. We are forced into cannibalism, which means selling Nets for other Nets, because there is not enough capital to sustain these prices. (It may seem a little far afield to talk about the Donner Party on such an occasion but those adventurers socked in by late snowstorms in the Sierras never intended to become cannibals and did so only at the behest of their parents. For that they have been judged mighty harshly.) The combination of a supercharged underwriting market allowing new companies to wield huge clubs in the form of market cap, a lousy bond market and a horrific amount of margin selling have coalesced to make the Net one plum ugly place. If the underwritings get stopped by this selloff, that is the first step toward a bottom. A consolidation of the players out there would be the second. And an acknowledgement by insiders that the stocks have fallen too low would be the third. Then it will be safe to buy for more than a trading bounce. When you hear of deal cancellations, that will be the signal to cover shorts. The takeovers and insider buying will be the signal to buy.

To: KeepItSimple who wrote (23420)	8/4/1999 1:25:00 PM
From: Joe Mintz	Respond to of 27307

Interesting observations. Perhaps one should hesitate, though, in taking such a unanimously bearish stance about the internet sector. Although sentiment has broken down for the time being due to macro-based concerns, the ultimate future of some of these companies remains incredibly bright. The revenue growth rates displayed by some issues appears almost unparalleled in financial history, for example. That said, one must select the correct holdings extremely carefully, and tend toward issues which have not become overextended (SPLN, SHRP, for instance) rather than chase the top names higher. There are several reasons that these stocks were run up, and it has not occurred solely based on mania-type buying. The internet, which will become a more general information superhighway, represents one of the most influential societal changes in human history. When one looks back at the tulipmania which pervaded Holland long ago, one realizes that the recent surge in net stocks falls far, far short of a true financial craze. Long-term trends may speak against shorting or holding puts. It often becomes dangerous to have developments working against one's position on a long horizon. Yet, if you are right about which issues have become the most overextended and hence prone to correction, then you could profit rather well in the short run. Good luck - it will be interesting to see how long this weakness persists. J.M.