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Strategies & Market Trends : Rande Is . . . HOME -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Konrad who wrote (32881)	8/25/2000 4:05:14 AM
From: johnsto1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57584

AKAM ah report ANALYST INSIGHT Of Epoch proportions Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000 09:06 PDT By Shannon Peavey, America-iNvest.com Picking stocks is hard. That’s why investors turn to analysts’ research and press coverage for help. But many investors become befuddled once they see just how much information has to be combed through to get any real perspective on a company. One new investment bank, Epoch Partners, hopes to help change that. The firm’s research department is focused on giving electronically-connected institutional and individual investors clear, concise information on high-growth technology companies, including complete fundamental investment analysis plus relevant third party info. America-iNvest.com spoke with Mark Langner, a managing director and senior research analyst for the San Francisco-based firm. Langner covers broadband and IP data service companies, including Akamai Technologies (AKAM), Covad Communications (COVD), Exodus Communications (EXDS), NorthPoint Communications (NPNT). Here’s what he had to say about the purpose of his research, his outlook for the companies and the sector he is focused on, and why he thinks competition is heating up in the broadband arena. America-iNvest.com: Tell me about Epoch’s research focus. Langner: Today the Internet makes a large amount of information freely available to consumers. Since there are a lot more individuals managing their own money out there now than ever before, we realize that the role of research has expanded. We aim to take advantage of the Internet by reaching out to large pockets of people who need that research, and provide it with the same quality as the big Wall Street firms do. While we do not charge any fees for this research, and we do not have ratings or price targets, we do provide honest-to-goodness investment opinions and analysis with solid context. America-iNvest.com: What is different about your research approach? Langner: We are trying to give investors quality research, and that’s done by talking to companies, evaluating and doing stringent comparisons of industries and companies. We are as good if not better than Wall Street analysts because we take the time to do the research right, and we want to share all that info with real people, all through the Internet. America-iNvest.com: How was your coverage list formulated? Do all these companies have something particular in common? Langner: The companies on this list are in the business of providing communications services. I tend to think of each of them as future leaders. We think of communications services in a broad sense. We are moving away from voice communication to data communication, and I believe the new leaders will be the companies that are already more focused on data today. America-iNvest.com: You cover Exodus, one stock we hear about quite often, and one of the few in the space with a healthy-looking chart. Tell me what has put them ahead of the competition. Langner: Exodus was an early player in providing the necessary facilities for a client’s data or Internet presence. The company sells bandwidth and connectivity, and is adding more and more managed services. They have been positioned as directly responding to the needs of the economy as a whole to get on the Internet. They have been very good at this and their stock performance reflects that. America-iNvest.com: Do you expect Exodus to hold on to this edge? Langner: Exodus has used the fact that they were early to the business to leverage themselves into the management services business. Also, right now there is still far more demand for housing services than there is supply, so these points give Exodus a good short-term outlook. But further down the road, Exodus’ success will depend more on what happens as the nature of what customers buy changes, and how technology and data changes. There are lots of new types of services in this area, including bandwidth, hosting, and data management. Can Exodus hold on to all three of these? That’s the question. We believe that the company will face competitive pressures from new service providers beginning in late 2001 that could impact its future growth and have a material effect on the stock. America-iNvest.com: Akamai is another big name. The stock is down substantially right now from its highs in the 300s, near 77. Will we ever see those higher levels again? Langner: Akamai is an interesting case. The company focuses on creating true value for data services companies and it deploys something in its services that others can’t replicate easily. They have been able to create a revenue stream without developing a lot of infrastructure by using the edge of the Web and riding on backs of other networks. They have one of my favorite types of business models. For investors, a bet on Akamai is a bet that people will send more data across the Internet. That’s an easy argument. This is a stock I’d call a core holding. Right now I believe the stock is relatively undervalued, and I consider it a buying opportunity at these levels.

To: Mark Konrad who wrote (32881)	8/25/2000 7:12:17 AM
From: Rande Is	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57584

OT> Au contraire, mon ami!! The Bonehead Post is what we live for around here! Do you even realize that the results you have been getting with your trading the last month have been the ONLY thing that has shown consistency during the period!?!? Your Bonehead posts are like a vintage U-47 . . ."silky transparency. . .extremely flat mids. . . accurate low end. . .very warm, but with remarkable clarity. . . . for an old tube." And just look at those results! Endless summer indeed. I want to rewind them and play them back 5.1 at 96k/24-bit on a set of Gennys. . .tri-amped S30D 3-ways with the ribbon tweeters to get the most out of the extended range. Who says you can't hear above 20K? >Bark< >Bark< LOL Rande Is