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Non-Tech : CompUSA (CPU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn Norman who wrote (3078)	12/8/1999 7:58:00 PM
From: Rono	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3187

December 8, 1999 Dow Jones Newswires Potential Influence Of Mexican Mogul Moves CompUSA By RIVA RICHMOND NEW YORK -- CompUSA Inc.(CPU), whose stock was stagnant for several months, ran up as high as 7 Wednesday after the morning release of a U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray research note trumpeting the potential influence of a major shareholder. The stock declined in late trading, however, and shares closed at 6, down 1/4 or 4%, on New York Stock Exchange volume of 4.1 million, compared with average daily volume of 976,268. During the previous session the stock posted an 8.7% rise. Wednesday's lure appeared to be CompUSA's prospects in Mexico due to the influence of Mexican financier Carlos Slim Helu, who recently bought almost 15% of CompUSA's stock. Slim filed a 13D form with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 22 to change his investment status to active from passive. "By filing as an active investor, the path is paved for potential future alliances between CompUSA and Mr. Slim Helu's other ventures - including Prodigy (PRGY), CDNow (CDNW), Sears Mexico and Telefonos de Mexico (TMX)," U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Rebecca Yarchover said in the note. Over the past few weeks, CompUSA and Slim's conversations have touched upon investing in cozone.com, CompUSA PC and other franchise opportunities, Yarchover said. "There are a lot of potential synergies that are huge positives" for both CompUSA and Slim, she said in an interview late Wednesday. The analyst theorized that CompUSA could provide computers to Telefonos de Mexico S.A., which operates Prodigy, the largest Internet provider in Mexico. CompUSA also could establish stores within Sears (S) department stores. "With only 4% of Mexican households having personal computers today, a Sears/CompUSA strategy could have a substantial reach into this untapped market," Yarchover said in the note. On Nov. 5 Yarchover upgraded CompUSA's stock to buy from neutral and set a 12-month price target of $11.75. In the options market, a major institutional firm is positioning for CompUSA's stock to trade past 7 a share. The firm is selling January 7 1/2 calls and buying stock, an options trader said. The contract fell 1/16 to 5/16 on CBOE volume of 1,243 contracts, compared with composite open interest of 3,675 contracts. An additional 890 contracts traded at the American Stock Exchange. "People are getting more hopeful that CPU will be more aggressive," the trader said. He said people hope the company will change its business model and become more involved in Internet sales. The company declined to comment on its stock activity.