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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Phoenix who wrote (45214)	4/23/1998 11:12:00 AM
From: Peter Yang	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 61433

>>I think if we see a slow down in backbone announcements/deals this will be a leading indicator to a Cisco backbone product announcment. So, if it gets quiet.....well, there's always quiet before the storm. And come to think of it, it has been a little more quiet than usual lately....don't you think?<< Gary, If there is any sign of slow down in backbone demand or any sign of increased competitions (or price war) in the sector, it's going to be devastating to ASND since all the hope for ASND is there. I used to hold CSCC. I was thinking what could have happened for the share prices for both companies if CSCC and ASND didn't merge. I think it's very likely that CSCC could be in 70s and ASND around 10 by now.

To: The Phoenix who wrote (45214)	4/23/1998 12:06:00 PM
From: gbh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

Gary, please don't lump me into any group that is quick to jump on CSCO, as you very well know, I am long CSCO a significant position. I was just trying to point out the "fact" that a somewhat negative article was written by TSC about CSCO. Nothing more, nothing less. I never stated I agreed or disagreed with the article. Now that said, ATT has unequivocally stated this was a software problem. Fortunate for CSCO (and its shareholders like me), as this is much more readily field fixable than a hw problem would be. I am quite sure ATT would never say this unless told so by CSCO. So, its not clear to me that anyone is "still searching" for the cause (just your opinion based on CNN conjecture), but instead CSCO is "still searching" for the fix. I'm sure we will all hear from ATT when the fix is deployed and they can stop "giving away" frame relay service, or if it was indeed "human error".

To: The Phoenix who wrote (45214)	4/23/1998 12:18:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

LU takeover rumors Wednesday April 22, 11:16 pm Eastern Time INTERVIEW - Lucent searches for more acquisitions biz.yahoo.com By Jessica Hall NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU - news), which has spent more than $3 billion on acquisitions over the past year, is still searching for potential targets, Donald Peterson, its chief financial officer, said Wednesday. Analysts and industry sources have speculated Lucent may make a major acquisition later this year when it is freed from a two-year restriction against pooling-of-interest combinations that would unravel its favorable tax-free spin-off from AT&T. But Peterson said the company would not necessarily wait until the restriction ends on October 1 before making another acquisition. He declined to name any specific targets or sectors. ''We have not been in a strategy of waiting. We actively look at acquisitions and made half a dozen in the last year ... and we'll continue to do that,'' Peterson said in an interview after the company announced better-than-expected quarterly earnings. ''I would not see a gate up there that keeps us from doing anything that we think is essential. These markets move too quickly to think you're going to sit out until you're ready,'' he said. Since its spin-off from AT&T in 1996, Lucent has acquired companies in areas such as microelectronics, messaging and data networking. ''We'll continue to look in those areas and others. I wouldn't rule out any area of our business for potential acquisitions if it made sense within our business strategy,'' he said. Lucent is a leader in the telecommunications equipment market and is becoming an increasingly powerful player in the data and Internet markets, analysts said. Analysts said Lucent could use an acquisition to leap-frog into a leading position in the data market or to extend its reach internationally. A wide range of companies, including Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO - news) and Finland's Nokia Ab (NOKSa.HE), have been mentioned as potential targets. Lucent's acquisition prospects -- as well as the company's solid fundamentals and rosy long-term growth outlook -- have pushed its shares up more than 90 percent since the beginning of the year. ''Lucent looks like the Mona Lisa,'' said Alfred Goldman, a technical analyst with A.G. Edwards and Sons. Goldman said Lucent's stock faces no major near-term resistance and momentum appears positive. The company's strong second-quarter results pushed the stock to a fresh high of 78-15/16 on Wednesday before it settled slightly to 76-13/16 by late afternoon. In the second quarter ended March 31, Lucent's net income, excluding a one-time $157 million acquisition-related charge, rose to $180 million, or 14 cents a share, from $66 million, or 5 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. The results beat the consensus Wall Street forecast of 9 cents a share, according to the First Call research service. The company has beaten expectations every quarter since its 1996 spin-off from AT&T. Peterson said the company was comfortable with the current range of 1998 earnings estimates of $1.50 to $1.61 a share. ''We continue to see substantial growth in our market. We're operating in a way we see as taking share in that market. At the same time we've got control of our costs at the margin level and the cost level,'' he said. Gross margins for the second quarter improved to 44.2 percent from 42.1 percent in the year-ago quarter, reflecting a more favorable mix of products and services as well as improved management of costs. Peterson said second-quarter gross margins were ''indicative'' of gross margins for the year. ''I see a continuing good mix in our business, around the same kind of thing we've seen in the first two quarters.... The margin for the year looks like it will be good by comparison to some of our prior years,'' he said. More Quotes and News: Cisco Systems Inc (Nasdaq:CSCO - news) Lucent Technologies Inc (NYSE:LU - news) Related News Categories: US Market News, options Help Copyright c 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon See our Important Disclaimers and Legal Information. Questions or Comments?