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Technology Stocks : Seagate Technology -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kendall harmon who wrote (7311)	8/17/1999 9:36:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7841

Seagate, Hard-Disk Makers Rise on Possible Shortages Scotts Valley, California, Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Seagate Technology Inc., the No. 1 maker of computer disk-drives, and its competitors rose after a parts distributor said shortages are appearing in some markets. Seagate rose 1 7/16 to 30 11/16 in trading of 5.58 million shares, after earlier touching 32 5/8. Shares of Quantum Corp.'s disk-drive tracking stock and of drivemakers Western Digital Corp. and Maxtor Corp. also rose. Disk-drive makers, whose devices store information and programs on computers, are battling to keep or expand market share as prices on personal computers fall. Prudential Securities analyst Kimberly Alexy said disk-drive distributor CHS Electronics Inc. said it's experiencing shortages for some drives, which could boost prices. ''This is not a signal that the industry is turning to the positive, however,'' said Alexy, who has a ''hold'' rating on the disk-drive makers. Alexy said she notified her customers that a ''short-term trading opportunity'' exists with the possible shortage and the depressed price of the companies' shares. Price Competition CHS Electronics, a Miami-based distributor of computer parts and software primarily in Europe and Latin America, said it's seeing shortages in the group of disk drives found in lower-cost PCs. ''We think that price competition is so intense that manufacturers across the board are unwilling to sell at these prices and that has dried up the supply,'' said Richard Kaminsky, CHS director of investor relations. Last week, Western Digital, the No. 3 disk-drive maker, said it will cut 2,500 jobs, or 60 percent of its Singapore workforce, as it moves manufacturing to neighboring Malaysia to trim costs. Western Digital ''took some manufacturing capability off line and that is a positive from an industry standpoint,'' said Jean Orr, a Nutmeg Securities analyst. Quantum also cut back on some disk-drive manufacturing rather than ship drives at too low a cost, Orr said. Quantum's hard-disk drive tracking stock rose 1/4 to 7 1/4, after reaching a record 7 15/16 earlier. Western Digital gained 5/8 to 4 3/8 and Maxtor rose 1/2 to 5 17/32. Some companies that supply parts to the disk-drive makers also rallied. Hutchinson Technology Inc., a maker of disk-drive suspension assemblies, rose 1 3/4 to 26 5/8, after reaching 28 3/4. Read- Rite Corp., which makes recording heads, rose 17/32 to 4 9/16.

To: kendall harmon who wrote (7311)	8/20/1999 1:38:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 7841

Western Digital Soars on Speculation of IBM Purchase Irvine, California, Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Western Digital Corp. shares have soared 47 percent in the past two days on speculation that the No. 3 computer disk-drive maker could be an acquisition target of International Business Machines Corp. or other rivals, analysts said. Western rose 1 3/16 to 6 7/8 today in trading of 13.8 million shares, making it the sixth-most active U.S. stock. The stock touched 3 1/2 on Aug. 12, its lowest level since 1993. Disk-drive makers, whose devices store information and computer programs, are in a price war to keep or gain market share as prices on personal computers fall. With profit margins under pressure, shares of disk-drive makers have plunged, making some of them attractive acquisition targets, analysts said. ''Buying Western Digital would help IBM participate in the desktop market,'' said Jean Orr, a Nutmeg Securities analyst. ''But I don't think it is likely that IBM is trying to acquire WD.'' IBM, the world's largest computer maker, and Western Digital both declined to comment. ''We've heard the rumors about Western Digital,'' said Charles Payne, head analyst at Wall Street Strategies Inc., a research firm that follows mergers and acquisitions and rates their probability for investors. ''When you get such a large increase in trading, you have to think something is brewing.'' Payne said that with the low price of Irvine, California- based Western Digital shares, the ''risk/reward'' factor is favorable. Seagate The speculation also includes Seagate Technology Inc., the No. 1 disk-drive maker, as a possible buyer for Western or for drive maker Maxtor Corp. Phil Montero, Seagate manager of corporate communications, said that the company ''is always actively looking for partnerships and acquisitions,'' but has nothing to report regarding the speculation. Maxtor's senior director of investor relations, Catherine Hartsog, said the company doesn't comment on speculation. ''When you get this kind of situation, that creates an environment where lots of rumors are spawned,'' she said. Maxtor shares rose 9/32 to 6 11/16. Seagate shares rose 11/16 to 32 1/2, while IBM fell 15/16 to 122 15/16.