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.

Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Patrick E.McDaniel who wrote (150278)	1/4/2000 3:19:00 PM
From: Mark Duper	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Dell Tumbles in Turbulent Market Following Analyst Warning By Kevin Max TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com Staff Reporter 1/4/00 1:43 PM ET Shares of Dell fell sharply Tuesday after an analyst at Merrill Lynch warned that lower gross margins for the company's fourth quarter could cut into Dell's earnings. The analyst, Steve Fortuna, said in a research report that although Dell was well-positioned for long-term growth, the current quarter "still lacks clarity" in terms of quarterly results. Dell's stock was down 3 3/16, or 6%, to 47 11/16 in early afternoon trading. But some other analysts questioned whether investors, caught up in Tuesday's market selloff, were overreacting to the views of Fortuna, who rates Dell's stock a hold. "As far as the Merrill Lynch report is concerned, it's stating the obvious -- that the quarter is a challenge," said Charles Wolf, an analyst at Warburg Dillon Read, who rates the stock a buy. His firm has done no recent underwriting for Dell. Wolf attributes Tuesday's fall in share price to a plunge in the broader Nasdaq market. "If you're not following the company, it's hysterical news, and to the analyst community, it's almost so what," he said. A simple glance inside the last quarter's financial statement under the heading "gross margins" confirms Dell's own caution about this situation. In his report, Fortuna also said the recent run-up in Dell's stock occurred for "no apparent reason." Dell investors got early stocking stuffers when Dell's stock price rose 28% from Dec. 14 to Dec. 23. Wolf disagrees. "The whole Nasdaq market ran up to highs and Dell is an important component of that market." Fortuna had not returned calls for comment by early Tuesday afternoon. Dell, based in Round Rock, Tex., has reported lower gross margins as a result of an "aggressive pricing strategy," according to its quarterly financial filings. Fortuna wrote that the company had either to be less aggressive on pricing to increase profitability and sacrifice some sales, or to maintain the current pricing strategy and risk falling short of consensus earnings expectations. Consensus expectation for the fourth quarter is 21 cents as surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. "In a flat market, the news would have taken only a quarter off the price," Wolf said.

To: Patrick E.McDaniel who wrote (150278)	1/4/2000 3:29:00 PM
From: OLDTRADER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

RE:Patrick-Let me explain --The market and making money in it is an art-not science.This art is learned by doing not in B-schools or in labs of any type-it' is a 'feel for the deal"--You a very informed person but for your own economic health and as respectful threadster -- I tell you don't always have your head stuck in the "Trees"--Look at the "Forest"- occasionally.CPQ IMO "is dead in our time"-been singing this song for three years now-Have I been wrong?

To: Patrick E.McDaniel who wrote (150278)	1/4/2000 3:34:00 PM
From: OLDTRADER	Respond to of 176387

RE:Patrick-Let me explain --The market and making money in it is an art-not a science.You are very informed but for your economic health I tell you don't always have your head in the "Trees"--Look at the Forest occasionaly.wbm

To: Patrick E.McDaniel who wrote (150278)	1/4/2000 6:10:00 PM
From: rudedog	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Patrick, Bill - I was working as a programmer on IBM 1440's in 1967 in Detroit - the home town of Burroughs, at that time one of IBM's challengers. IBM was fighting the government on an antitrust suit, and it's internal operating costs had gotten out of control, it was struggling against a number of more nimble competitors. The conventional wisdom among my friends at that time was that IBM was "toast". This was just before the launch of the 360 architecture, which of course became the dominant architecture for the mainframe industry to the virtual exclusion of everything else and is still the basis of today's mainframe environment. CPQ's PC business is certainly weak - as a stand alone business. But CPQ's other businesses are at the forefront of their respective segments, very profitable and growing well. CPQ only needs to get the PC business to break-even or a little better. If they succeed in getting control over a lot of the Internet backbone infrastructure - and they have as good a shot as IBM or HP, perhaps not quite as strong as SUNW - they will be off to the races again. I think, Bill, that you are focusing on CPQ's PC business when I had written that off a year ago. CPQ's forest is bigger than the PC trees...