Another WSJ guy likes 3COM :
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Dow Jones Newswires -- November 12, 1997
Traders See Tech Stocks Attractive To Long-Term Investors
By Anthony Palazzo
PASADENA, Calif. (Dow Jones)-- Technology stocks, like the overall
market, are under pressure from deterioration in the Asian economies that
are home to many customers, and some market players believe the time may
be ripe for long-term investors to step up.
While techs, for now, are following the rest of the market, people looking
for companies they like are finding prices pretty attractive.
"If you're a long-term investor, you pick your spots," said Scott Arwin, an
institutional broker with many clients involved in technology's biggest names.
"There might be a little room for them to go south from here, but, unless
there's a plunge, you'll see some real interest from long-term investors" as
Asian markets begin to settle down.
"You're seeing sort of a bottoming in some of the semiconductor stocks"
such as Atmel Corp. (ATML), Arwin said. That stock, which is in many of
his clients' portfolios, was recently trading at 23 3/4, up 3/4, or 3.3%.
Some semiconductor equipment stocks are also "trying to bounce back, "
Arwin added. Those include Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), a
semiconductor equipment giant that seems to find a base of support at 30,
he said. The shares were recently trading at 30 11/16, down 7/16, or 1.4%.
The broker said he would also start thinking about 3Com Corp. (COMS),
formerly a large holding, when it gets to around 29. Earlier, the networking
equipment firm was off 2 3/4, or 8.2%, at 32 1/4.
Underlying the feeling that tech stocks may be a bargain was a conference
call held by Goldman Sachs & Co. analysts. Although they said they were
still concerned about the Asian economies, they also told clients they were
bullish on the technology sector.
Indeed, tech stocks were doing better than the overall market Wednesday.
The Nasdaq computer index was off only 0.1%, while the Nasdaq
Composite declined 0.5%. However, traders noted, the conference call
didn't have much of an impact on the technology tape, which hasn't yet
broken free from the overall market.
"I don't think there's any catalyst with technology stocks in particular," said
one trader. "It's moving with the rest of the market. There's nothing that's
happening with Intel or Microsoft or Cisco that's moving them."
Those technology bellwethers were mixed. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was
unchanged from the previous day at 130 5/8. Intel Corp. (INTC),
meanwhile, gained 1 5/8, or 2.1%, to 77 7/8, but Cisco Systems Inc.
(CSCO) fell 1 9/16, or 1.9%, to 79 1/16.
Arwin said some investors seeking safe technology investments may want to
look into those three stocks or International Business Machines Corp.
(IBM), which was down 1/16, or 0.1%, at 98 15/16. He said, however,
he'd wait for Intel, which will have flattish earnings the next few quarters, to
slide a bit more.
-By Anthony Palazzo; 626-798-7628 |
