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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Jacobs who wrote (35885)	12/2/2000 2:59:17 PM
From: slacker711	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

I am still trying to make up my mind on the issues that Greenberg raised....however, I must disagree with the following line. The C3 stuff is no longer an issue since they are not banking on any revenue from them. I think the CTHR issue is at the heart of the reservations I currently have about Cree. No, I dont believe that moissanite will have any effect on the bottom line for Cree....however, one of the primary considerations in an investment (for me) is trust in management. I was never entirely comfortable with the fact that one of Cree's earliest customers was run by the CEO's brother. However, as long as each business was run in the best interests of the respective shareholders it was ok. Unfortunately, it appears that Cree stuffed the channel with moissanite. It is tough for me to come up with any other explanation for the nearly 4 years worth of inventory that CTHR currently has on hand. I am currently trying to go through CTHR SEC filings to see if I can find a rationale. I may be particuarly sensitive to this issue...my first investment was in US Robotics. I held the company through the 3COM merger, even though issues were continually being raised about the amount of inventory in the channel. I ignored these warnings. Inventory is a short-term issue....however the fact that management continued to ship product that it knew would not be sold created a fundamental concern about management's integrity for me. I would generally view the rest of the concerns that Greenberg raises as examples of financial engineering (except for World Theatre which again has a brother as CEO). I think I would normally ignore these issues except for the fact that when combined with CTHR, they seem to form a pattern of borderline financial practices. None of the above diminishes the prospect for future growth which Cree has. However, it may impact the size of my investment.... Slacker

To: Robert Jacobs who wrote (35885)	12/2/2000 3:00:54 PM
From: Tom Pulley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

Robert, I for one agree with you 100%. There is no comparison in my mind between what Cree has done and LHSP. I owned LHSP until last summer when huge Korean earnings arose from nowhere while earnings in other countries slacked off or virtually disappeared. I decided to sell, but was waiting for a better price when the Wall Street Journal came out with an article in which a reporter was unable to verify the larger sales to the Korean customers. I was amazed the stock didn't totally crash immediately and I got out at that time (somewhere around $30/share). The vast majority of Cree's sales on the other hand are with reputable companies that the analysts can verify. The investments for the most part are clearly related to improving their product lines and technology. World theator appears to be a good business idea so investing there makes sense in that Cree is helping fund a potentially good business that will use lots LED's if successful. CTHR was similar in that the business had potential and would use Cree products. It didn't work out, but I think many Venture Capital companies strike out on a good percentage of their investments. I see Cree's investment there and with World Theator as Venture Capital in promising companies that will grow the market for Cree products. That makes sense even if they don't all do well. To finish up, comparing Cree to LHSP is absurd and makes me question the ethics or at least the brains of Herb Greenberg. I think it also very suspicious or coincidental that he is "piling on" at this point in time when the market is so weak. In any event, Cree looks like a great bargain to me on a long term basis while LHSP last summer was clearly very risky. Tom

To: Robert Jacobs who wrote (35885)	12/2/2000 3:47:16 PM
From: KevRupert	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

Cree Analysis: Caveat: I do not currently own Cree, although I have in the past. I have made quite a bit of money on Cree. I don't short stocks. So I have no position in Cree. I only post my comments because this thread is one of the best. Uncle Frank, BB, tekboy, Eric L. make this a fantastic thread. I have read of everyone's holdings -- including Cree amongst the top stocks. Herb G. is a straight-shooter. He may not always be right, but quite often he is. He saved me a bundle by staying away from LHSP. There are too few honest reporters or analysts that don't have an axe to grind or a commission to worry about for the investment community. If any part of what Herb suggests is true, then this should be a huge worry on the part of cautious investors. I don't know if what he says is true. I do know that Herb can be respected (I read Herb prior to his TSCM days). Who knows what happens next, but hopefully he is wrong this time for the benefit of many on this thread.