Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (29694)	11/12/1999 9:32:00 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Shares of Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL - Quotes, News, Boards) were down just over $2.50 to $17.25 in early Thursday afternoon trading. Why? It seems that Banc of America downgraded the stock to 'market perform' from 'buy' earlier in the day. The analyst that downgraded this stock, Paul Dravis, was unavailable for comment. Like this Article? However, word is that the analyst is concerned that the company lacks marketing focus as the result of a couple of recent key executive departures. CEO Eric Schmidt told us recently that these concerns are unfounded and was upbeat about the company's prospects for at least the next year. Novell is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings on November 23. We are confident that Novell will not miss the quarterly consensus estimate of $0.17 per share, according to IBES. We are concerned, however, that there could be some softness as the New Year approaches. The reason: A general consensus among IT managers not to purchase equipment or make any big upgrades prior to Y2K. However, this scenario is a short-term problem. Not a long-term problem. Novell is, and will continue to be a leader in the directory services market for some time. And recent news that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - Quotes, News, Boards) will delay its Windows 2000 product is actually good news for the company. One more concern: Novell's shares recently dipped below their 200-day moving average, a bad sign to technical analysts. Still we would recommend the shares on their current dip since we think the company's problems, if any, appear to be temporary. Analyst: Glenn S. Curtis