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Technology Stocks : Lucent Technologies (LU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Techplayer who wrote (9888)	10/7/1999 4:15:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21876

Thread--- LU wins 470 million dollar contract in Venezeula ( I hope that is spell right ) over five years . Announce at 1:00 p.m. BEST WISHES BILL

To: Techplayer who wrote (9888)	10/7/1999 4:16:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Respond to of 21876

Thread --interesting comments :Lucent Technologies Inc. Dow Jones Newswires -- October 7, 1999 DJ TIP SHEET: Monument Telecom Fund Mngr Turns Old Into New By Zahida Hafeez NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Monument Funds Group's brand-new telecommunications fund is more than just an old volume with a jazzier cover. As a replacement for Monument Funds Group's Washington Aggressive Growth Fund, which had focused on emerging companies in the Greater Washington, D.C., area, the recently renamed Monument Telecommunications Fund retains some of its predecessor's reliable stocks like Winstar Communications Inc. (WCII), Visual Networks Inc. (VNWK) and PSINet Inc. (PSIX) in its current portfolio of 25 companies, each comprising less than 5% of total holdings. But the newly minted Monument Telecommunications Funds, which has posted a 5% return since its changeover on Sept. 30, according to portfolio manager Michael Gallipo, has also added industry giants such as AT&T Corp. (T), MCI Worldcom Inc. (WCOM), Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) and Motorola Inc. (MOT), as well as "riskier" mid-cap names like telecommunications equipment-makers ECI Telecom Ltd. (ECIL) and Com21 Inc. (CMTO). (Washington Aggressive Growth's shareholders approved changing the fund's name and objective last month. Monument Telecommunications Fund retained about 25% of the former fund's holdings.) Explaining the switch from being a regional fund to a sector-specific one with a national focus, Gallipo, who was previously an investment analyst with Van Eck Global, said: "Along the way the Monument Funds Group changed its emphasis to look nationally and target the most dominant sectors of the economy in the next 20 years." In addition to applying the stock-picking criteria common to the entire collection of Monument Funds Group such as strong management, good balance sheet, stable cash flow and sound marketing position, Gallipo likes to identify companies that will benefit from certain broader trends in the telecommunications industry. Gallipo pays attention to issues such as broadband access and convergence of voice and data communications because he believes that consumers will be using many methods of communication in the next few years. "I don't believe any one technology will predominate in the future; many will co-exist," Gallipo said. Gallipo's portfolio leaves little ground uncovered in the sector: He picks from equipment makers, network systems providers, and public and private carriers relying on wireless, satellite and land-based methods of communications. Why does he keep his portfolio so broad? "I don't have a black-box model," Gallipo said. Although, "the company should make sense given what else we own in the portfolio." He is big on equipment makers involved with the emergence of bandwidth and concerned with resolving the "last-mile bottleneck." In that space he likes what he calls "one-stop shopping" companies like Lucent Technologies and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), which are providing a wide range of services and end-to-end solutions, he said. In addition, Gallipo does a bit of bottom-fishing during market downturns for premier companies with attractive long-term appreciation of capital, especially if short-term trends have caused the companies' stocks to shed value. Consider MCI Worldcom, which comprises 3.5% of Gallipo's portfolio and which he calls "the best growth stock in the service-provider space in the last few years." MCI Worldcom's multibillion-dollar takeover bid for Sprint Corp. (FON) was the largest acquisition in history, and resulted in investors punishing the company's stock amid uncertainty on whether or not the Federal Communications Commission will approve the merging of two telecommunications giants. Gallipo is waiting in the wings to increase his holdings in MCI Worldcom until chances for the merger's approval by the FCC improve. "I'm looking for the right time," he said. "It's not going to be a cake walk but the merger probably can happen," Gallipo said as regional bell companies move into the long-distance space and with "dial- around" companies alleviating some FCC concerns of a merciless duopoly in the industry. But Gallipo conceded that "it has to cross some formidable regulatory hurdles." Nonetheless, Gallipo said MCI Worldcom, which trades at approximately 20 times its year 2000 earnings, is "trading slightly below market value" at current levels. Gallipo also likes AT&T, which he believes trades at a discount, for its push to issue three new tracking stocks to follow the performance of its wireless unit, cable and Internet ventures, and business-outsourcing unit. Tracking stocks recognize that investors may find more or less value in a company's core operations, and Gallipo said AT&T felt that investors didn't appreciate the mix of its business. "(Issuing trading stocks) will unlock value and allow investors to invest in specific pieces," Gallipo said. "Inherently AT&T's value is higher than the stock price suggests," he said. Gallipo said that AT&T's stock has the "potential" to double in 12 months. He also recommends AT&T for its turnaround plan, instituted by CEO Michael Armstrong, that includes the company's foray into the cable industry, its cost-cutting strategy and a wider suite of products. BEST WISHES BILL