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Technology Stocks : Network Appliance -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: H.A.M. who wrote (3959)	8/13/2000 4:11:45 PM
From: Uncle Frank	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10934

>> Isn't it just better to buy and hold companies with great fundamentals for the long term? I think so. It takes a far greater degree of due diligence and discipline to focus on the long term prospects of a company than to trade it, but the potential for reward is much higher. Comparing my wife's 572% return since buying ntap on 8/5/99 to Jubak's non-productive trades, it is clear that she was wise to ignore the painful short term swings in valuation. uf

To: H.A.M. who wrote (3959)	8/13/2000 5:44:18 PM
From: Mehitabel	Respond to of 10934

Thanks for your comments about Jubak's trading history with NTAP, Hisham. I agree completely. All last summer, there was bragging on all the boards about the money the short term traders had made trading NTAP, and all last summer NTAP's fundamental position was only strengthening. The company was reporting it in the conference call, and the brokerages were reporting it in their analyst's reports, but still the "trading" went on. IDC, Merrill Lynch, Prudential-- all wrote about the NAS market "exploding", and predicted accelerating growth as the NAS concept caught on. The people who really studied the stock hung on and bought all they could. They were rewarded with a huge multiple expansion. As you say, the traders got to buy their stock back in the 90's. It often seems to me that many who style themselves as hip traders simply don't have the discipline (attention span?) to really study a stock and use "trading" as a substitute for work. The whole market has been weak. Every tech stock has been touched by that. When it rains wouldn't my house, my car, my trees, maybe even me get wet too? Thanks for keeping us honest. :) Best regards

To: H.A.M. who wrote (3959)	8/13/2000 6:23:57 PM
From: John Madarasz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10934

Thanks all for the replies and thoughts, It's funny though that every reply seemed to be most concerned with the trading of the stock price and the stop loss limit, and not what I thought was the more insightful message... concerning gross margins and book to bill. The number to watch in the report, however, is gross margin -- Wall Street will be disappointed if the company invests too much in sales, and research and development -- and the book-to-bill ratio. This has historically been a soft period for orders at Network Appliance, and a book-to-bill below 1 (which would mean the company is booking fewer new orders and billing more old orders) is possible. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. FWIW I won't be using any stops because I don't even own the stock yet, I'm only still studying it, and finding more and more that I do want to own it, but am always cautious buying before earnings for a LTBH... especially in light of the fundamental issue Jubak raises. These are the type of stocks I like to buy on general market corrections. I think this company will be a great one for the future. Thanks to all for the good posts, and thought provoking information. Best Regards, John Madarasz