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

To: Art Baeckel who wrote (3000)	10/19/2000 8:33:01 AM
From: Art Baeckel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3813

Klee bearish on Novellus But John Hancock Funds technology manager optimistic on Dell, Gateway October 17, 2000: 4:38 p.m. ET NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Marc Klee, technology manager, John Hancock Funds, said Tuesday that while Novellus reported it met analysts' expectation for the third quarter, the news may not be enough to hold or attract investors to an out-of-favor semiconductor sector. But Klee was more bullish on Dell, Gateway and Avici. Every day at 1 p.m. ET, CNNfn viewers are invited to call in to the "Talking Stocks" segment and ask equity-related questions of the guest expert. The toll-free number is 800-304-FNET. Click here to send your questions to the next guest Name: Gustavo (Location unknown) Question: Dell (DELL: Research, Estimates). Valuation seems very reasonable for Dell. Is this a good entry point? What is your 12-month target price on the stock? Answer: I like Dell and Gateway (GTW: Research, Estimates) quite a bit at current levels. Both stocks have sold off on concerns that the PC business is a dying business, but we don't believe that is the case. We see three positives on the horizon -- more server and upscale biz, additional income from "beyond the box" revenues, and becoming major vendors of information appliances. Name: Craig, California Question: Earthlink (ELNK: Research, Estimates). What is happening with Earthlink? They seem to have lots of cash, but the stock has gone down. Any hope for a buyout or increase in price anytime soon, or should I sell the stock? Answer: Unfortunately there is little reason to think they can leverage their position as the second-largest ISP even after the merger with Mindspring, because it is so much smaller than the "gorilla" AOL (AOL: Research, Estimates). Because of the cash on hand and the Sprint ownership I don't think there is much downside, but I don't see the stock moving up either. Name: John, Connecticut Question: Avici (AVCI: Research, Estimates). What is your six-month price target on Avci? Answer: While we think Avici is a nice niche company, its valuation at $3.7 billion is already reflective of the outlook. Overall we think the stock is fairly valued where it is. Name: Marc, (Location unknown) Question: Sycamore (SCMR: Research, Estimates). Can you explain a "standard" in the fiber optic area that has been in the news recently? Sycamore has been in the forefront in trying to gather others to agree on a standard. Can you enlighten us? Also, what is your long- and short-term on Sycamore? Answer: Historically in most sectors of technology customers would like standards so they can mix and match producers' products. In networking, this hasn't been the case to any great degree as of now. Sycamore is pushing standards because their products interface with others. We like Sycamore quite a bit at this time, partially reflecting the sell-off the stock has had in the past six weeks. Name: Mike, Texas Question: Novellus (NVLS: Research, Estimates). What are your thoughts on Novellus and its recent sell-off? Answer: Novellus reported last night, and business remains relatively good. Nevertheless, the sector is out of favor and it probably will take some time before investors return to it. While the valuation is quite reasonable at this time, near-term I don't expect the stock to do much. CNNfn welcomes your e-mail questions for our "Talking Stocks" guest. Please include your first name, state and one stock question per e-mail. Please keep in mind: "Talking Stocks" is for specific stock questions only. If you do not see an answer to your e-mail here, it is because our guest does not cover the company. -- compiled by Parija Bhatnagar Disclaimer cnnfn.cnn.com