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.

Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scrapps who wrote (13341)	3/4/1998 6:32:00 PM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

3Com Rises 6.9% on Expected Increase in Modem Sales Santa Clara, California, March 4 (Bloomberg) -- 3Com Corp. shares rose 6.9 percent amid optimism that sales of its computer- networking products and telephone-based modems will increase this year. 3Com rose 2 7/16 to 37 11/16 in trading of 15.4 million, making it the fourth-most active issue in U.S. markets. The maker of equipment that links personal computers to networks is the market leader for so-called 56K modems, which let computer users access the Internet 60 percent faster than existing phone-based modems. An international board last month set a standard for 56K, a move that's expected to spur sales of the products. ''The modem standard should accelerate their sales growth,'' said Eric Blachno, an analyst at Bear, Stearns & Co. who has a ''buy'' rating on 3Com. Blachno expects the company to report quarterly revenue of $1.35 billion to $1.4 billion. Before the standard, 3Com's 56K modems couldn't communicate at the highest speeds with modems using a rival technology made by Rockwell International Corp. That caused many consumers and corporate buyers to put off modem purchases. Asia On a conference call in December, 3Com officials blamed slowing modem sales and economic turmoil in Asia for its lower profit in the quarter ended in November, which fell 91 percent from a year earlier. The company, which gets about 10 percent of its revenue from Asia, won't see its Asian business rebound for at least the first half, Blachno said. 3Com's dominant position in sales of low-cost network interface cards, or NICs, should allow it to maintain its profit margins for those products. If the company can move those products through their distributors, they should add to sales growth, he said. 3Com gets half its revenue from its modems and access products, which connect PCs to corporate networks. Analyst Chris Stix of Cowen & Co. upgraded Santa Clara, California- based 3Com to ''buy'' from ''neutral'' and set a 12-month target price of $45. The company's stock also was upgraded to ''buy'' from ''market perform'' by analyst Stephen Koffler at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. o~~~ O

To: Scrapps who wrote (13341)	3/4/1998 6:51:00 PM
From: Dwight E. Karlsen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

Sorry about your CPQ loss! I haven't been in CPQ for ages. The last time I did, it was with puts (short). I had Feb 30 puts, and on the day awhile back that CPQ started surging up, I sold the puts early in the day. I think I did lose some money, but not a whole lot, like $500. That's what happens when you start playing those options...no money. That's true, options can be quite lethal on the ol' portfolio. But what I meant was that I am 100% invested in offshore oil drillers: DO, CDG, RIG, FLC, and NE. I bought call options in these stocks Feb. 20th. Most are May expiry, but the DO are March, and the NE are June. Intels turn in the barrel. Yeah. Again. Like last Oct 1997. Remember how crummy techs did after that? After a couple of months, many were convinced we were in at least a tech bear market, maybe even an overall bear market. Even the normally bullish Investor's Business Daily was spooked. I recall them running an article which was very grave and full of concern over --- get this --- Dell and Intel, because they had both went below their 200 dma. We'll see, but I expect a lot of that tech money to flow into the energy sector, which is severely depressed. Last few days have been good though. I bought my RIG calls when the stock was between 40-41, yesterday RIG was at 47, so it's improving. Maybe I'll be investing in 3Com again eventually, with some oil driller gains! -GG- 'Luck to all, DK