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 : Novell (NOVL) dirt cheap, good buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kilo_watt who wrote (34763)	11/9/2000 9:55:24 PM
From: Spartex	Respond to of 42771

<<Doubt that? NOVL has been trading close to cash for awhile. >> Assuming yahoo "profile" of Novell is correct, they have around $2/share in cash. Company is trading at 4x cash level. However, this doesn't include other assets (properties). biz.yahoo.com

To: kilo_watt who wrote (34763)	11/9/2000 10:39:58 PM
From: Frederick Smart	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Divesting Novell & Avoiding Accountability..... >>I made a prediction, privately, to one of the regular posters here that the ultimate sign of impending doom for NOVL would be a major divestiture. In April. We have a major divestiture. The Netware franchise is by no means strengthened here. NOVL is simply auctioning off the only piece of their business that is really worth anything. This is a classic set up for an acquisition candidate. Doubt that? NOVL has been trading close to cash for awhile. Take away the valuation (unknown) for Volera (probably hoping it will comparable to CFLO, more likely comparable to ISLD) and what are you left with back at the ranch? Not much. Further, I do not believe the royalty model is the more profitable one for ICS. On another note: I have invited Novell reps out to visit with the CIO of my new company several times. No takers. Crazy.>> Kilo: I agree with your assessment. This looks like an internal land grab - ie. "get yours/mine while we can before shareholders force the BOD to wake up..." I'm deeply ashamed at the way they have used Scott Lemon's integrity to deflect attention elsewhere. Scott's going to get what's his, etc. "Right vs. Wrong" mean nothing in a paradigm that couldn't care less about anything and anyone outside of it's internal power/politics. This is just my opinion and I know they're all like something else we all have, but we all have a right to express what we believe to be the truth behind what's happening. I am sick to my stomach. What a time to announce this spin-off - right on the heals of one of the most divisively close elections in our nation's history. I'd like to know more about the Swiss warrents. Novell common equity is a sitting duck to be arbitraged down into oblivion unless the BODs and institutional shareholder base forces more accountability upon Nelson and these managers. I'd like to see every Novell shareholder get a piece of the Volera spin-off. There is no reason to keep this inside this closed cultural collective negative energy swamp called Novell. Novell is burning through the time and trust of customers, shareholders, partners, etc. I'm ashamed to see this spin-off side-panned with such low level focus. It's as if they don't want anyone to question their motives. Where's the shareholder vote?? I'd like to see what options Nelson et. al. were weighing. Or is this another one of those inside jobs with the BOD granting/Oking personal favors. I see a pattern here folks and it STINKS. I know, I know, it's all just Frederick Smart's way of perceiving the world. I am proud to share these views. Novell is being looted internally and externally. And Scott is there getting "what's his". Yes, I finally "get it." Paul, what are you getting in all this? Peace. GO!!

To: kilo_watt who wrote (34763)	11/9/2000 11:29:03 PM
From: ToySoldier	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Kilo, On another note: I have invited Novell reps out to visit with the CIO of my new company several times. No takers. Crazy. I have been saying that privately and publicaly for months now! I have asked, begged, threatened, jumped up and down, etc. to get Novell sales, marketing, and program teams to do business with me. One would think that a company that should be as hungry and Novell would jump at just a whisper of an opportunity for business. I feel as ignored by Novell as I commonly get from companies like MSFT. I MIGHT have actually recieved a little attention this week although I have to wait and see if anything will actually come of it. I will believe it when I see it. I am glad to see Kilo that I am not the only one that seems to have witnessed Novell's sales and marketing staff all but shutting down opportunities. I dont know what size or type of company you belong to but I would guess its either very young and/or relatively small. MY theory is that Novell staff have lost their hunger for the business and are simply milking the older established Novell accounts, or the larger accounts with potentially big wins. They dont seem to want to deal with smaller younger "high risk / high reward" customers - even if they really want to use Novell's technology. And I can tell you that this lack of interest goes quite high from my experience with them. Its sad to see how they have shut down. I truly don't blame them though. I would think when Novell's stock collapsed and the obvious following on-slaught of industry analysts/media slamming every aspect of them and saying "I knew it was too good to be true about Novell's success", the moral and desire of Novell staff has taken any desire out of their drive. I can honestly say that I completely understand how they feel now as I just left my company (you all know who that is) up here in Canada a couple months ago as the division/region I left had also hit rock bottom on moral. Valued staff leaving in droves, others being "encouraged" to leave with severance packages, customers leaving them, smaller vendors eating their lunch, etc. The local industry has quickly noticed their pain as news travels fast in smaller communities (its like pirahna tasting blood). While I was there, I had lost all my enthusiasm just to carry on, much less promote the company. I think Novell staff are in the same situation I was in prior to leaving. If so, I feel sorry for them. Now I am part of a small aggressive startup vendor and my hungry to go to work and creativity on going after new ideas and initiatives could not be STRONGER!! I dont know Kilo if NOVL is on the verge of being acquired but it has made sense to do so since 1997. We have talked about who it should be. I hope these signs are right - for the good of Novell's staff, their technology, and the industry. Cheers! Toy

To: kilo_watt who wrote (34763)	11/10/2000 10:02:45 AM
From: SmokeyJoesMa	Respond to of 42771

kilo_watt, perhaps the most disheartening thing you've said in the past few days is On another note: I have invited Novell reps out to visit with the CIO of my new company several times. No takers. Crazy. You are the person, who, while you said you were employed at Novell, offered to ensure attention to accounts on the brink. Though I never called you on this, the company was given opportunity to show that they wanted to re establish accounts in trouble or lost with their new offerings. Novell is still not trying to sell. I hope that this Volera will continue to use established players to market and sell some of their products, as the account I know and tried to get attention for recently ordered a bunch of Dell ICS boxes (with their history of buying lots of stuff, I'm guessing they will indulge in overkill here too and will buy more over time). This account certainly will not switch horses midstream, they are comfortable now with who has been selling them stuff all along and who has been actively selling the Dell ICS solution. On a slightly different note, and not necessarily addressed to kilo_watt, if this Volera news was really good, wouldn't the trading volume of Novell stock have been much stronger over the past week or two? It always seems someone knows something even minor before news breaks...once it's on the internet it gets distributed faster than in print. I really am hoping this is good news, but it seems in my very limited experience that there is still not a lot of confidence out there in this company. I certainly know that we peons on these boards did not "discover" a hidden gem, no matter how fast this news was posted (I first saw it posted by Nabs over on RB at 3:07 PM yesterday). Even yesterday, it seems that volume would have picked up much more than it did, when was it, midday yesterday, (after which it dropped with the price?). Okay, that may be enough topics for one post...