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.

Strategies & Market Trends : Stock Attack -- A Complete Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Judy who wrote (6123)	2/17/1998 3:03:00 AM
From: Chris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42787

I would watch chevron (CHV). <Picture>Tech Stock Analysis <Picture> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Updated for: February 17, 1998 Please note: Briefing.com is provided as an information service only. Charter Media, Inc. and Briefing.com do not make specific trading recommendations or provide individualized investment advice. Readers should make investment decisions based on thorough research and their own investment criteria. See Disclaimer. General Commentary Look for the holiday shortened week to begin with a bang (and we're not talking about the U.S. bombing Iraq, though that remains a distinct possibility)... Bolstered by news of the Tellabs/Coherent Communications merger and by the sector's resilience to profit-taking despite bearish news out of Asia, we expect investors to return from their three-day weekends in the mood to buy... Given the merger, which is discussed in the Industry Brief below, the telecom equipment industry should pace the advance... PC stocks will also exhibit strength as traders anticipate another strong report from Dell, which is set to deliver its earnings on Wednesday... Hewlett-Packard is also on the earnings calendar and the rumors on the street are that the company will miss its number... At present, the consensus estimate for the quarter is $0.88... But the "whisper number" is in the $0.85-$0.80 range... Considering how the market has rewarded all the chip equipment companies that have either missed their numbers or warned of missing in future quarters, maybe the best thing for HWP shareholders would be a sub-par number... Seriously, the HWP report will give the market a better sense of how the Asian crisis will impact future earnings in that the company was exposed to the problem for nearly four more weeks than those companies that delivered results back in January... The stock has lagged the market in recent months due to anxiety over this report... Analog Devices, ADC Telecom, Ingram Micro, Ciena, Presstek, Tandy, Data Broadcasting and Gilat Satellite are among the more notable/interesting reports that comprise this week's earnings slate... For the complete listing see Briefing's Earnings Calendar... Industry Briefs Computer Systems & Peripherals \| Networking \| Software \| Semiconductor \| Chip Equipment \| Telecom Equipment Computer Systems & Peripherals Brief: Round two of earnings season, as Hewlett-Packard (Tu), Dell (Wd) and Tandy (Fr) are set to report earnings... Consensus estimates are for gains of $0.88, $0.76 and $0.88... Though HWP could prove a stumbling block, look for Dell's numbers to rule the day and set the tone for the group in the days to come... All signs are that DELL will deliver another outstanding report... However, one caveat... Company is not prone to cautionary comments regarding future... Consequently, the slightest hint of troubles ahead would be taken as a big sell signal and the stock, trading at historically high valuation levels, would get hammered... Not likely, but something to keep in the back of your mind should you be considering trading on the report. Computer Networking Brief: Friday's trading was quiet with the exception of Ascend which raced higher in active trading... Takeover rumors again driving activity in the stock... The company has also been the recipient of a couple upgrades lately... Cylink also posted a nice gain after it reported earnings of $0.06, three cents better than expected... Prudential followed the report with an upgrade to buy from hold... Sanford Bernstein upped its rating on Newbridge to market perform from underperform... How much longer until Intel gobbles up rest of Xircom it doesn't already own?.. Just curious. Computer Software & Services Brief: Not one to be outdone, Larry Ellison might be at it again... One week after Computer Associates launched a hostile bid for Computer Sciences, there is word from the U.K. Mail that Oracle and Cable & Wireless are in merger talks... The former has a market cap of about $26 bln, while the latter's market cap is $23 bln... Possible software/telecom merger likely to raise a few eyebrows among the prudent while expanding the field of possibilities for the speculators... Returning to CA and CSC, their stocks continued to move in divergent paths with CA losing another 1 1/8 while CSC added 2 3/4... Sterling Software surged on news that company posted earnings of $0.49, a full eight cents above estimates... Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley upped its rating on Keane after the Y2K company reported better than expected earnings. Semiconductor: Brief: Group likely to get a boost as US Commerce Dept found S. Korea and Taiwan guilty of dumping SRAMs... Leader Intel is slumping again, after testing but failing to penetrate key resistance at 90... Concerns remain over margin erosion and company's failure to more adroitly address new markets for low-priced chips... Salomon Smith Barney lowered its rating on Lattice to outperform from buy. Semiconductor Equipment Brief: Group completed the triple-play, as Lam Research joined SpeedFam and Applied Materials in posting gains the day after posting/warning of disappointing numbers... While you have to marvel at the industry's resilience you also have to question market's behavior... Remember, these companies weren't out there screaming from the mountain tops six-months ago about the upcoming financial crisis in Asia, yet it happened... Now they're guiding future estimates/expectations lower and no one cares... "It's all in the price," is the common refrain... But we ask, what's all in the price?... Management still has little clue as to how bad the crisis in Asia will effect their business... All we do know is that they are acting and sounding much more cautious now than a few months ago, and they we're overly optimistic then... Are they still being too optimistic?... If so, look out below. Telecommunications Equipment Brief: Tellabs and Coherent Communications announced a merger agreement under which Coherent will become a subsidiary of TLAB... Under terms of the agreement, all outstanding shares of Coherent stock will be exchanged at the ratio of 0.72 shares of TLAB common stock for every share of Coherent common stock... Based on Friday's closing price, deal is valued at $670 mln... Deal is expected to be accretive immediately... Companies hosting a joint teleconference to discuss deal with analysts this morning at 8:30 ET... A taped replay of the teleconference will be made available to investors beginning at 11:00 am ET... Replay will be available for 24 hours... Interested parties should call 800 633-8284... When prompted enter TLAB reservation number 3865866... This looks to be a win/win deal and we look for both stocks to jump on the news... TLAB poised to test the upper end (65) of 8-month trading range... As noted above, Oracle & Cable & Wireless are reportedly in merger talks as well... In light of the activity it should be a bang up session for the telecom equipment group... Who needs RBOC capital? [ Index ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This page was downloaded by your browser Tuesday, February 17, 1998 03:01:04 ET and is the latest version available as of that time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright c 1998 Charter Media, Inc. All rights reserved.