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Technology Stocks : Altaba Inc. (formerly Yahoo) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (10340)	4/19/1998 2:00:00 PM
From: JScurci	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27307

Dear William, Mr. Readerman may very well have a "seasoned mind" but let's face it, it's a bit too trite for he or anyone else to say it's "OK" to buy a stock like this with someone else's money. How much stock did David Readerman buy on Friday with his recently earned bonus dollars? And if he did buy some, how much of his net worth is in the stock? Does David own this name with the same relative fervor as 90% of his institutional clients who take 1% positions in 100 names? If so 'B.F.D.'! Tell me he mortgaged his and his mother's house to buy this stock here and I'll sit up and take notice.Someone who decides to make an "investment" in Yahoo is in fact making a "venture capital" style "investment" in what is still an unproven company in an unproven industry, albeit, one that shows much promise.Unfortunately at 100+ times or so someone's revenue estimate you are not paying venture capital style prices,rather, at those prices you are in "LA-LA Land" making not an investment but rather a "wager" that this stock will go up another 5 or so points this day just like it did the other day... and so on. The scary thought is that at half it's current price all of the above is still true. As long as someone then is making a "wager" at least go into the area where the odds are in your favor. regards, John

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (10340)	4/19/1998 2:53:00 PM
From: RationalX	Respond to of 27307

<<Yahoo is and has been an exceptional situation, and every metric shows that Yahoo's fundamentals are growing stronger.>> Be careful on using traditional metrics on the highly evolving internet market. I certainly do not need to elaborate on using caution with Analyst advise. Yahoo does have a good lead to the other search engines and new players(MSFT, NSCP) but that lead can quickly vanish with some strategic moves, influence and money. MSFT recently bought HotMail, WebTV and has made strategic investments with NBC. More importantly it is catching market share for the browser. The agent people use to view the web. You can use your own crystal ball to forcast what will happen in the future. BUT I assure you people at Yahoo! will be yelling something else as they compete with the likes of MSFT. And Investors will be paying a little less capital gains tax. Congrats on your investment in Yahoo! thus far. RationalX

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (10340)	4/20/1998 12:49:00 AM
From: Mike M	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 27307

William- <<As Montgomery's David Readerman (Bill Gates' favored analyst) said in his reassessment of his previous hold rating, "We believe this operating leverage is sustainable because of the company's leadership in Internet-based search services.>> I am a firm believer in growth and grant you that YHOO is a marvelous emerging company....with bright prospects! Nor do I necessarily subscribe to the doom and gloomers who say MSFT will squash them...wing them a little, maybe, but squash? very doubtful! I merely feel that this valuation gives the company years, rather than months (due to discounted earnings), to disappoint. That is a lot to ask any company. This is particularly so in an environment where corporate earnings are tenuous and, consequently, advertisement dollars may be at risk. History is replete with analysts and investors attempts to justify bloated valuations based on future earnings. After an exhaustive search, I have not found one company who was ever awarded a 70 x sales price tag, let alone any that were proximately priced, that didn't end up getting many investors into serious hot water....Not even Bill Gates was ever asked to hold anything near that kind of valuation/sales! I noticed that in an earlier post you warned novices not to short YHOO...Good advice....I would add a corollary to that. IT IS NO WISER FOR NOVICES TO HOP ON BOARD OF THIS COMPANY AT THIS EVALUATION! I have read postings suggesting that institutional ownership will provide stability to the stock price. My experience suggests that nothing can be further from the truth. When the institutional investors stampede for the exits, marvelous companies are taken out and shot...No one is willing or able to stand in the way of that freight train. Will it happen? Neither you nor I know the answer to that....I only know that these prices are unprecedented! Enthusiastic analysts continue to throw huge growth numbers at the internet as if economic factors will have no play whatsoever! Where does a $6 1/2 Billion dollar company with $100 M in sales go from here? One possibility is that it will continue to discount future earnings ad infinitum (I find that doubtful), two is the price can wait for earnings to catch up and three is we can have an awakening to valuations and a severe correction...I find the latter to be the most plausible, albeit this is no prediction for Monday.... You have articulated your position well and I wish you no misfortune. I simply believe that until market cap more closely approximates sales and profit, this is no place for the feint of heart! Mike