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

To: Dorine Essey who wrote (154561)	3/3/2000 12:46:00 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Hi Dorine! Your trip sounds fun! Here is more info from Dan! :)Leigh Offering more recommendations, Niles asserts, "I think Dell is another one that's going to be a really great performer this year. They had a very disappointing '99 when they preannounced two quarters in a row. I think they've reset expectations now to achievable levels." The Wall Street Transcript Publishes Outlook for Computer Hardware Report in Robertson Stephens Tech 2000 Conference Issue NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- 21 leading analysts and 33 Technology CEOs examine the Technology sector in the latest issue of The Wall Street Transcript 212-952-7433 or twst.com . In a crucial review of this sector for investors and industry professionals, this valuable 174-page Special Issue features: 1) Outlook for Computer Hardware - In an in-depth Analyst Interview (2,900 words) Daniel Niles, Managing Director and Senior Electronics Analyst, discuss the outlook for the Computer sector, the status of the leading companies, and his recommendations for the upcoming year. Summarizing the sector, Niles states "We spent most of the back half of last year being pretty negative on the space. We downgraded a lot of these stocks in the second quarter as well. Our feeling was that demand in the first half of the year was artificially inflated by companies buying a lot of product ahead of time to prepare themselves for the millennium change and any potential computer hardware glitches associated with that." He adds that "over the last couple of weeks, we upgraded Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) -- before the quarter, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) -- after their preannouncement, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) -- after their Q4 results. I feel like these stocks, which drastically underperformed the Nasdaq in the back half of 1999, would be the same stocks that would outperform the Nasdaq in 2000 and lead that sector higher." Commenting on the recent Y2K issue, Niles states "Quite honestly, if we didn't know that there were supposed to be problems, we wouldn't have noticed anything. So I think for the most part it was pretty much a big yawn." Giving his strongest recommendations, Niles declares "Intel is by far the easiest one. With Intel, the good news is that you really don't care if Gateway (NYSE: GTW), or Dell, or Compaq do well. All you care about is the industry as a whole." "I'm a private investor in Transmeta," Niles says proudly, "so I obviously think that there's a market for the company, and I think they'll do well, but there's a lot of room in the market for many players. A lot of different players can do well. Xilinx (Nasdaq: XLNX) and Altera (Nasdaq: ALTR) are great examples of that. Obviously, Dell, Compaq, and IBM are all very good companies. So there's more than enough room in the market for AMD (NYSE: AMD) and Intel, and Transmeta as well. And they all have slightly different markets." Offering more recommendations, Niles asserts, "I think Dell is another one that's going to be a really great performer this year. They had a very disappointing '99 when they preannounced two quarters in a row. I think they've reset expectations now to achievable levels." He continues by stating, "Compaq, I think, is a stock that can double, or even triple, over the course of the next 24 months easily. After a really disappointing two years, the new management, I think, has a pretty good game plan in place." Concluding his thoughts on PC makers, Niles says that "Gateway is the easy one on the consumer side, from the standpoint of the way they're in bed with AOL (NYSE: AOL). You should see a lot of new products over the course of the next year that should really benefit their position in the consumer market." "I think for IBM and the infrastructure side that next year, as you continue to add more and more computing hardware into the systems, people are going to look more and more for service help, an area where IBM shines, declares Niles. "I think Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW), as the backbone provider, will continue to see a very good 2000 as they provide more of the hardware infrastructure necessary to run a lot of these Internet companies." He then concludes by stating, "I think a lot of the laggards from last year, such as IBM, Dell, and Intel, will be the real superstars of this year. I am pretty excited about it." This 174-page Robertson Stephens Tech 2000 Conference Issue also includes: 2) The following Robertson Stephens Tech 2000 Analyst Interviews (avg. 2,000-words): Outlook for Robertson Stephens - Robert Emery Outlook for Tech 2000 - John Rohal Business Software - Eric Upin Semiconductor Capital Equipment - Susan Billat eNetworking Software - John Powers Outlook for eServices - Stephen Birer Next Generation Networks - Paul Johnson Outlook for eBusiness - Marshall Senk eTailing - Lauren Levitan Outlook for eFinance - Scott Appleby Outlook for Semiconductors - Arun Veerappan Computer Services & Outsourcers - Andrew Jeffrey Outsourced Infrastructure Services - Richard Juarez Communications Equipment - Paul Silverstein eNetworks & Convergence Companies - Michael Graham eMarketing - Lowell Singer Digital Media Infrastructure - Arnab Chanda eBusiness Applications - Kash Rangan European eBusiness Software & IT Services - Sharon Corr Network Storage - Dane Lewis 3) 33 extensive (average 2,000 words) CEO Interviews with top management from the following sector firms discussing the outlook for their firm and the Technology sector: For a complete list of CEO interviews see twst.com To obtain a copy of this insightful 300-page report, see twst.com or call 212-952-7433. This special section is also included in the Technology Sector of TWST Online at twst.com

To: Dorine Essey who wrote (154561)	3/5/2000 12:06:00 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 176387

Dorine, Hi! It looks like things are picking up again for the Dell longs! :)Leigh Last year Dell's earnings slowed in the fourth quarter because Y2K concerns curbed corporate clients' tech spending and investors feared that smart wireless devices would undercut desktop computer sales. Loewenstein and his colleagues believe the company is headed for a solid earnings recovery that will send the stock north. "Right now, it's a company selling at its growth rate. We think the stock is headed up 50%," he says. thestreet.com Saturday Screen: Overlooked Earnings Stories By Ian McDonald Senior Writer 3/4/00 10:50 AM ET Today's market is being driven by a narrow band of biotech, wireless and tech stocks, and that's leaving plenty of solid companies in the growth highway's breakdown lane. So, this week's Saturday Screen trolls the S&P 500 for the best of these overlooked growth stocks. We sifted the S&P 500 for large-cap stocks that have been growing earnings at a 20% annual clip and are expected to do so over the next five years, but have underperformed the S&P 500 index over the past 12 months. After all, stock prices are supposed to follow earnings, right? We came up with a list of 15. But What Have You Done for Me Lately? Stocks with golden earnings outlooks that have gone nowhere. Stock Trailing 12-Month Earnings Growth Projected 5-Yr. Earnings Growth 12-Month Performance P/E Ratio MCI WorldCom (WCOM:Nasdaq - news - boards) 191% 29% -14.8% 34.7 Providian Financial (PVN:NYSE - news - boards) 85 25 -35.5 17.2 Boston Scientific (BSX:NYSE - news - boards) 56 20 -35.4 17.5 Tyco International (TYC:nyse - news - boards) 53 20 5.6 22.9 Compuware (CPWR:Nasdaq - news - boards) 52 30 -23.9 18.2 Unisys (UIS:NYSE - news - boards) 44 20 0.4 19.3 Gap (GPS:NYSE - news - boards) 39 20 10.9 37.8 Pfizer (PFE:NYSE - news - boards) 36 20 -28 36.9 Staples (SPLS:NYSE - news - boards) 35 30 -10.2 41.1 Lowe's Companies (LOW:NYSE - news - boards) 34 21 -19.4 26.6 Capital One Financial (COF:NYSE - news - boards)COF 30 23 -12.2 21.9 Dell Computer (DELL:Nasdaq - news - boards) 29 32 6.8 62.3 Cardinal Health (CAH:NYSE - news - boards) 26 20 -45.2 17 MBNA (KRB:NYSE - news - boards)KRB 25 20 -5.1 19.2 Dollar General (DG:NYSE - news - boards) 21 23 -16.6 24.9 S&P 500 9 9 13 28.4 Source: Baseline. Data through March 2. We don't claim this is a buy list by any stretch of the imagination, but you might find a few intriguing ideas in this pack. Guest columnist Jim Jubak recently listed two stocks from the list, Dell Computer (DELL:Nasdaq - news - boards) and Pfizer (PFE:NYSE - news - boards) in his column on the 10 best stocks to own now. These stocks' earnings growth looks good on paper, but their performance tells you that some may have had problems. (Hello, Tyco (TYC:NYSE - news - boards)!) But today's moody market has sometimes been too kind to unprofitable concept stocks and too cruel to solid companies recovering from an earnings hiccup. We showed this list to some money managers and asked them to look behind the numbers and help us separate the wheat from the chaff. MCI WorldCom (WCOM:Nasdaq - news - boards) and Dell both stumbled last year, but could be set to recover this year, says Alan Loewenstein, co-manager of John Hancock Global Technology, up 178% over the past year. He owns both stocks in the fund. Price competition on long-distance rates and acquisition growing pains weighed down MCI WorldCom shares. But Loewenstein says the company's growing revenue from data communications will boost the stock this year. Last year Dell's earnings slowed in the fourth quarter because Y2K concerns curbed corporate clients' tech spending and investors feared that smart wireless devices would undercut desktop computer sales. Loewenstein and his colleagues believe the company is headed for a solid earnings recovery that will send the stock north. "Right now, it's a company selling at its growth rate. We think the stock is headed up 50%," he says. Investors haven't been quite so optimistic about nonbiotech health care stocks lately. Expiring drug patents and fears that legislators will cap drug and health care costs have pushed this one-time growth sector onto many value managers' radar screens. But there's good reason to take a closer look at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and drug-distributor Cardinal Health (CAH:NYSE - news - boards), says Jordan Schreiber, skipper of Merrill Lynch Healthcare, whose 29% average annual return beats 85% of his peers, according to Morningstar. He owns both stocks in his fund. Pfizer is more than 30% below its 52-week high and is in the midst of swallowing Warner-Lambert (WLA:NYSE - news - boards). The American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical index is down more than 9% since Jan. 1, but to say Schreiber likes the stock is an understatement. "Pfizer will be the most dominant drug company in the world when they integrate Warner-Lambert. They'll have the biggest product pipe and the best marketing in the industry," he says. Cardinal Health suffers from the sector's woes, too, in addition to making some dicey acquisitions. The company, nearly 50% off its 52-week high, also was tarred with the same brush as troubled competitor McKesson HBOC (MCK:NYSE - news - boards). But Schreiber believes in the company's management and thinks its new Internet strategy will help silence critics and send the stock up. Things aren't as rosy among the retailers, where managers say the threat of Internet competitors and a slowing economy have hurt the whole sector, including the likes of Gap (GPS:NYSE - news - boards) and Staples (SPLS:Nasdaq - news - boards). But Lowe's Companies (LOW:NYSE - news - boards) might be worth a look, says Bruce White, a private money manager with Clifford Associates in Pasadena, Calif. "It's a hell of bargain," says the usually low-key White, who owns the stock personally and on behalf of clients. The company is essentially a "Home Depot (HD:NYSE - news - boards) look-alike," says White. Traditionally, Lowe's has refrained from competing with Home Depot in metropolitan areas, but now it's taking the challenge, he says. Wall Street doesn't think the company can do it and has punished the stock in the face of solid earnings. Wall Street has written off Lowe's simply because analysts love Home Depot, but Lowe's management is savvy enough to make the expansion a success, says White. He thinks once the company proves itself a solid competitor in metro areas, the stock, which is nearly 30% below its 52-week high, will be rewarded. Dollar General (DG:NYSE - news - boards) is a discount retailer that might be a good play as the Wal Mart (WMT:NYSE - news - boards) "for the low-income person," if the company can cut costs and boost margins, says Dean DuMonthier, who manages Strong Mid-Cap Discipline, up 43% over the past year. "The low stock price can compensate you for the risk you're taking," he says. The stock is nearly 40% below its 52-week high and its price-to-earnings ratio is well below its peers. He also likes Capital One (COF:NYSE - news - boards), which he owns in his fund, one of the three credit card shops on our list. As you may imagine, the group on the whole has been under pressure. Even though personal bankruptcies are at an all-time low, investors figure an economic slowdown could create a real credit crunch for these companies, particularly Capital One and Providian Financial (PVN:NYSE - news - boards), both of which have exposure to consumers with less-than-perfect credit. An earnings slowdown at Bank One (ONE:NYSE - news - boards) last year and regulators' probe into Providian's sales practices have hurt the group, too. But DuMonthier says Capital One's solid management should be able to sidestep its competitors' problems, and he doesn't see a steep downturn ahead. That, he says, makes the cheap stock a bargain. Is he right? Only time will tell. And the same goes for the others on our list. No one can say for sure which of these stocks will turn around. But it's hard to ignore 20% annual earnings growth forever.