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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Martini who wrote (58716)	8/17/1998 8:32:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Dell stock surges with strong results expected Reuters Story - August 17, 1998 19:38 %DPR %US %BUS %HOT %RES %RESF DELL CPQ IBM HWP GM V%REUTER P%RTR By Eric Auchard NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Shares of Dell Computer Corp. jumped nearly 5 percent on Monday as investors sensed the leading direct distributor of personal computers would issue better-than-expected second-quarter results on Tuesday. Dell shares gained $4.94 to close at $110.56 in heavy trading on the Nasdaq, as the fast-growing computer maker set the pace for a rally in top-name technology stocks. Several traders said the stampede into the stock was fueled by whispers circulating on Wall Street that Dell could report earnings that were significantly ahead of prior expectations. In recent quarters, Dell is believed to have rapidly expanded its share of the PC market at the expense of rivals such as Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM Corp., which rely on indirect channels of distribution like retailers and corporate resellers. Traders said the stock surged on Monday after rumors surfaced that Dell would report earnings of 51 to 52 cents per share for the second quarter ended in July, about 70 percent higher than the 30 cents a share reported in the year-ago second quarter. Wall Street analysts had previously estimated that Dell would report second-quarter earnings of between 44 and 48 cents per share, with the consensus at 46 cents, according to First Call, which tracks broker estimates. Dell, a company begun in a student dormitory in 1984 by undergraduate Michael Dell, has developed a wide following on Wall Street based on its record of torrid financial growth. While Wall Street analysts uniformly agree that Dell will continue to show fast-paced growth, many have grown concerned in recent months about Dell's high stock valuation. "I am not expecting Dell to miss the quarter," SoundView Financial analyst Mark Specker said, referring to Dell's July-quarter earnings report. But he also asks, "Are the numbers going to go far enough to support the stock price?" The peril of rising expectations is that investors can become disappointed when the company fails to match the escalated forecasts, he noted. Indeed, Dell stock dropped in May after the company reported its first-quarter results that came in 54 percent higher than earnings in the year-ago quarter but fell just short of Wall Street's expectations at the time. Part of the danger is that investors have grown accustomed to Dell beating Wall Street's forecasts. During the last nine quarters, Dell has exceeded expectations each time by an average of 3 cents per share, according to First Call. The stock's value has multiplied more than 85 times in the last five years, pushing its market capitalization to around $70 billion, or well above that of General Motors Corp.