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

To: Kalman who wrote (834)	8/30/1999 2:23:00 PM
From: Trader Dave	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1331

A very interesting article. However, I doubt a slight change in EPS due to declining subsidies of R&D would impact the stock significantly long term. We owners are looking for sustainable and consistent operating earnings growth and revenue growth. The subsidy change wouldn't impact either metric.

To: Kalman who wrote (834)	9/2/1999 7:14:00 PM
From: Beltropolis Boy	Respond to of 1331

>Comverse achieved a valuation of $6 billion in part because its leader is sensitive, attuned and attentive to Wall Street whispers. He is religious about telling analysts what they like to hear: Comverse's profit per share surprises in exactly one direction, and that's upwards, and not by much at that.< appreciate the article, kalman. interesting read (and gave me a fleeting shiver). did you get your proxy? you know, obi wan kobi could always give us an addition earnings surprise by waiving a few basis points off his bonus. these are not the drakmas you are looking for: "Mr. Alexander is entitled to receive bonus compensation in an amount to be negotiated annually, but not less than 2.75% of the Company's consolidated after tax net income in each year." ok, i'm no bean counter, but can anyone tell me just what kind of cash instruments kobi & company have those $713M shekels socked into? interest and other income at $3.3M? what gives? and dilution now at 5 cents (roughly 9%).

To: Kalman who wrote (834)	11/23/1999 12:59:00 PM
From: Beltropolis Boy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1331

"Kobi" beef? this just in: Ha'aretz reports that Alexander likes Wendy's Combo #3 (with a Single for dessert). Comverse now moving up to heavyweight. and here's solly with today's low blow ... "Salomon Smith Barney said on Tuesday it had cut its rating for Israel's Comverse Technologies to an "outperform, medium risk" (2M) from a "strong buy, medium risk" (1M) due to a rise in the share price. "Comverse's stock price appreciated 195 percent this year alone and more than 80 percent in 1998," analyst Victor Halpert wrote in a report. The stock closed at $136 on Nasdaq on Monday. Salomon introduced its full year 2001 earnings per share estimate at $2.98 and upgraded its 12-month price target from $100 to $140 per share, while maintaining the full year 1999 and 2000 EPS estimates at $2.07 and $2.49 respectively." ----- Financial News Sliding past the $10 billion mark Guy Rolnik 11/21/1999 Ha'aretz Deregularization, the global opening of the communications markets to competition and the huge boom in cell phones have made Comverse one of the fastest growing companies on Wall Street in recent years. The growth in the software component of communications products has helped push the company's profit margins to heights that are the envy of far older firms. The last time I met with Alexander, 47, in New York was two years ago. He hasn't changed much he said, apart from gaining two kilos. Not bad, considering that Comverse last week became the first Israeli company to hit a market value of $10 billion - and then just kept climbing, to reach a point somewhere between $11 and $12 billion. The company's largest shareholders are its employees. They hold about 10 percent of the capital in options - a package with a market value in excess of $1 billion. Nor has Alexander changed his habits. He answers the phone himself, and it would be hard to know from his office on Third Avenue that he is the chairman and CEO of a company worth more than $10 billion. The conversation takes place in a small conference room, and when the guest asks for a glass of water it is the CEO who fetches it. In the past two years, Converse's shares have risen almost fivefold against the background of the company's rapid growth and a dramatic spurt in its activity. The quantum leap occurred two years ago, when Comverse successfully completed a merger with its American competitor, Boston Technology. Today, Comverse is the world leader in its field, holding an estimated 40 percent of the market. It is expected to show a net profit of $200 million in 2000 and a net profit of $250 million the following year. Kobi Alexander, is a market value of $10 billion just a number or a major milestone in the history of Israeli companies? "What do I know, we are not an Israeli company, the market determines the value, and that's that." Not Israeli? You are Israeli, you are the founder and you have headed it for the past 15 years, management is mostly Israeli, the majority of the personnel are Israelis and the bulk of the development work is done from Ramat Hahayal in Tel Aviv. "This is a company that is registered in the United States and half of its staff is here in New York. You could say that it is an American company with an Israeli affinity." Does an American visitor to the company identify a culture, style and working methods that are singularly Israeli? "I don't know what is distinctively Israeli here. What we have here is a management that has been together a long time, and almost everyone in management came up through the ranks. If I had to compare us to something, then we are more like an aggressive company in Silicon Valley than like a European firm. We behave like American companies, with good aggressiveness." Is Comverse is [sic] a daring firm that takes big risks, or does its strength lie in controlled, systematic growth? "The deal to acquire Boston technology was daring. We are the first who dared do anything like that. On the other hand, we knew exactly what we were doing. Our due diligence was lengthy and we went into the deal with eyes open. You could say that Comverse is slightly more daring than it is conservative." Wall Street analysts say that what distinguishes Comverse from other Israeli firms is that its CEO is an expert player on the Stock Exchange. For years you have declared anticipated growth of 20-25 percent in your net profit, while in practice for 22 successive quarters you have "surprised" Wall Street favorably with 40 percent growth. "Maybe, but that is only part of the business. I think that most CEOs today are more sophisticated and know the rules of the game on Wall Street. What distinguishes us is that we are winners, and Wall Street pays for winners. If you look at what has happened over the past year on the Nasdaq [the bourse where most high-tech stocks are traded], you will discover that most of the shares fell. The share indices don't show that because they are based on the average of the market value. What has dragged the indices up is the 30 leading high-tech companies -- and we are one of them." Where will Comverse be in another five years? "It will continue to grow as it has been growing and will be even higher. I will tell you the same thing we tell the Street: the top line in the annual report will grow by 25 percent a year and the bottom line in the report will grow by 25 to 30 percent a year. That is the goal, every employee in the company knows that, and let's hope we can meet the goal. sidebar: NEW YORK - Kobi Alexander has a very nice business: every third person in the world who buys a cellular phone or orders a new line also receives computerized voice mail that is manufactured by Comverse. The company, which was founded and is managed by Alexander, charges between $8 and $25 for every such voice mail installation.