To: Sir Auric Goldfinger who wrote (6867 ) 11/22/2000 2:36:24 PM From: StockDung Respond to of 19428 Oracle Falls After Company Loses Another Exec V.P. Gary Bloom Leaves to Run Veritas Software Get Quotes, Company Info: ORCL, VRTS By Lisa Baertlein Reuters PALO ALTO, Calif. (Nov. 20) - Shares of No. 2 software maker Oracle Corp. closed 14 percent lower Monday after news of another high-level executive departure. On Friday, Veritas Software Corp. said it had hired Oracle Executive Vice President Gary Bloom as its new chief executive. A 14-year veteran at Oracle, Bloom was considered an effective manager and likely candidate to take the helm there. His departure marks the software giant's second executive defection in less than six months. Bloom -- who said he is jumping to the data-management software maker because Oracle's chief executive spot is not likely to open in the foreseeable future -- will split his time between the two companies until mid-December. On Monday afternoon, Oracle shares finished down $4-1/16 at $24-3/4. It was the day's most actively traded issue as nearly 88 million shares changed hands, compared with average volume of 33 million. The stock has fallen from a high of $46-7/16 in September. "We believe Bloom's departure will not leave a huge gaping 'functional' hole in the Oracle management infrastructure," Lehman Brothers analyst Neil Herman wrote in a research note. "Net/net, our confidence in the quarter is not impacted as Bloom was a manager, not a closer. However, the departure does concern us long term." Banc of America Securities lowered its earnings estimate on the company for fiscal 2001 by 1 cent per share and its license revenue estimate over the next three quarters, keeping its buy rating on the stock. Edward Kerschner, chief global strategist for of UBS Warburg and PaineWebber Inc., took a more bearish stance and deleted Oracle from his highlighted stocks list. UBS Warburg downgraded Oracle to hold from buy. "Given all the potential challenges for Oracle," it said in a report, "we also recognize that the stock is still above its longer-term historical valuation metrics, and we believe the risk/reward profile for the stock is less appealing even at these new levels." Analysts were mixed on the significance of Bloom's departure, with some brokerages maintaining a bright near-term outlook for Oracle. CIBC World Markets analyst Melissa Eisenstat maintained her buy rating on the stock. "We believe Oracle's pipeline to be very strong," she wrote, "which will probably overshadow any negative perturbation resulting from Bloom's exit, at least for the next several quarters." Credit Suisse First Boston kept its strong buy rating, citing a bullish meeting with Bloom the prior week. Veritas shares finished $2-7/8 lower at $107-1/4 after trading as high as $118-1/16. The stock hit a 52-week high of $174 in March. 16:20 11-20-00