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

To: Kent Rattey who wrote (49886)	7/14/1998 4:45:00 PM
From: Jeff Jordan	Respond to of 61433

DB 13:38 [ASND] ASCEND COMM SEES STRONG GROWTH IN N AMER MARKETS. DB 13:37 [ASND] ASCEND COMM SAYS TO REMAIN CAUTIOUS IN ASIA PACIFIC, JAPAN. DB 13:37 [ASND] ASCEND COMMUNICATIONS EARNS 29 CENTS IN Q2, 1 CENT AHEAD OF ESTIMATE. DB 13:36 [ASND] ASCEND COMMUNICATIONS Q2 NET $59.1 MLN VS LOSS $48.8 MLN. DB 13:35 [ASND] ASCEND COMMUNICATIONS Q2 EARNS 29 CENTS VS. LOSS 26 CENTS YEAR AGO.

To: Kent Rattey who wrote (49886)	7/14/1998 4:49:00 PM
From: djane	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 61433

Kent, thanks for the Dow Jones article. Maybe we'll have a nice little short squeeze on our hands after the AFCI BS rumors on the earnings day and options week. It would be nice revenge after today's events. Congrats to all ASND longs and opportunists who took advantage of the gift. djane

To: Kent Rattey who wrote (49886)	7/14/1998 9:10:00 PM
From: Kent Rattey	Respond to of 61433

FOCUS-Ascend Q2 results in line, but growth accelerating (Changes dateline, adds byline, adds details, executive comments) By Eric Auchard NEW YORK (Reuters) - Internet equipment maker Ascend Communications Inc. reported revenue and earnings results for the second quarter Tuesday that were in line with expectations and was optimistic on future growth. In addition, the company told Wall Street analysts during a conference call following the financial report that it would meet consensus earnings forecasts for the last two quarters of 1998 and be slightly ahead of projections for the 1999 year. Ascend, the fourth-largest supplier of computer network gear, said its second quarter net income was $59.1 million compared with a loss of $48.8 million in the June quarter of 1997. The latest results are the equivalent of 29 cents per share, a penny ahead of the consensus estimate that Wall Street analysts had expected Ascend to report in the second quarter, according to First Call, which compiles broker estimates. Second quarter net sales of $327 million compared with $312 million in the June quarter of 1997, in line with estimates. Ascend officials said they expected third quarter revenues to grow about 10 percent and for fourth quarter revenues to grow by slightly more than 10 percent. Second quarter sales of $327 million were 7 percent above the first quarter. Ascend makes software and electronic devices that manage the flow of information through big corporate and public computer networks, like the Internet. It is one of the biggest suppliers of telecommunication equipment to Internet service providers and online services, such as America Online Inc. Looking ahead, Chief Financial Officer Michael Ashby told analysts Ascend revenues would grow in the ''mid-30 percent range'' during 1999, up from the ''mid-to-high 20 percent'' revenue growth expected for 1998 as a whole. He said the company expects to continue to gain market share in its two core markets as revenue growth outpaces that of most of its competitors. Only rival Cisco Systems Inc. has been growing faster in terms of revenues, but its products are sold mostly to corporate enterprises, while Ascend dominates sales of data network equipment to phone carriers and online services. Ahead of the earnings report, Ascend stock declined nearly $4 to $49.56 during the day Tuesday, a drop that analysts said was unrelated to the company's financial results. Instead, analysts attributed the decline to rumors that Ascend planned to acquire Advanced Fiber Communications Inc., a supplier of equipment that allows phone operators to connect local customers to telephone company central offices. Rumors of a takeover attempt of the Petaluma, Calif.-based Advanced Fiber drove the company's stock up $1.31 to $25.44 on Tuesday, adding to a gain of more than $4 Monday. The two stocks were among the most actively traded on Nasdaq Tuesday. But Ascend CEO Mory Ejabat threw cold water on the rumors during Tuesday's conference call. ''We have not been in any discussions with AFC,'' Ejabat said, referring to Advanced Fiber Communications by its initials. ''I don't even know who (Advanced Fiber's) president is ... or who the CFO is,'' he said. ^REUTERS@ Reut20:34 07-14-98 (14 Jul 1998 20:34 EDT)