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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (25745)	2/8/1998 1:33:00 PM
From: Knighty Tin	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 132070

To All, Long boring note part two. Small tech stocks. In general, the small tech stocks have fulfilled my wildest dreams. Names such as Atmel, 3-Com, Novellus, Altera, Western Digaditch, ReadWrong, C-Cube, Cirrus, MUEI, etc. were winners last year, though some of the same names were bigger winners in 1996. In fact, many have gone so low that I no longer consider the smaller tech stocks a prime source of put candidates. That doesn't mean they are fairly priced. Just that they are no longer so overpriced that any idiot can recognize the fact. Actually, this idiot is finding occasional values in the area more regularly than previously. I even went long Ascend 4 times in the past 12 months, when it had been my whipping boy for a long time on the put side. Two of those buys were nothing short of brilliant and I was rewarded immediately by quick, profitable trades. Another became a "long term investment." -g- Actually, even that buy has been averaged down to where it is now an extremely profitable position. That being said, here are the smaller caps I like on the long and the short side: Longs: 1. Coherent Communications. Still makes the best echo canceler. Asia is a problem, but I think CCSC is a first-in, last out co. 2. Intersolv. Good Y2K solutions. I also like Keane, but, lordy, is it pricey. 3. Pagenet. Pagenet will go up. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. -g- This is also a former put winner. 4. Midway Games. The junk they sell to brain dead teens is moving like crazy. However, a huge supply overhang of stock from WMS. 5. Casino Data Systems. Probably more of a gamble than pulling the handle on one of their bandits, but it is sure cheap. Puts: 1. Novellus. Though not as pricey as before, this co. is in a lousy position, fundamentally and is still selling at a price that discounts everything but a roaring bull market in chip equipment. 2. Ciena. Over the long haul, Lucent and others will eat their lunch. 3. MUEI. This bowwow has popped back up, recently. Wait until after eps are reported, which I expect to be lousy but "better than expected," to get back into puts. Always danger of a sale at these prices, but the main buy candidate just took out DEC. IBM could also do it if they weren't busy shoring up their sharp pencil accounting. 4. Electronic Arts. Christmas is more than 10 months away and this one sells at nearly double Midway's multiple. This is a former buy in the low 20s. A great co., but a stock that is either too loved or too hated. It is now too hated. In general, I find better put opportunities in finance and hotels than in tech right now. MB