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Technology Stocks : Ampex Corporation (AEXCA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hal Campbell who wrote (3305)	8/31/1998 10:23:00 PM
From: Ed Perry	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17679

<<Does anyone have a list of pure web hosting stocks?>> Today's IBD had a short take on Web Hosters. Don't know if any of these are publicly traded but here goes: 9netave.net concentric.com earthlink.com hway.net netcomi.com tabnet.com webhostlist.com ,,,,, web host reference whg.org ,,,,,,, web host guild Ed Perry

To: Hal Campbell who wrote (3305)	8/31/1998 10:36:00 PM
From: Ed Perry	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17679

Found interesting article in Information Week Aug 31 98 Taking Stock: Switched-On Appliance As IT's demand for data storage capacity skyrockets, Network Appliance, a provider of data-access services, should continue growing rapidly By William Schaff when you hear the word appliances, low-tech companies such as Maytag and Whirlpool come to mind. But don't let Network Appliance Corp.'s name turn you off. The company manufactures and markets high-performance data-access products aimed at businesses with large networks handling massive amounts of data. And it's got a bright future. Network Appliance (NTAP-Nasdaq) is the leading provider of dedicated network data-access servers, often known as filers, which deliver shared-file service for Unix and Windows networks, as well as the World Wide Web. The company's revenue has grown close to 93% per year since it went public in November 1995. Can it continue to grow aggressively? Current business trends certainly favor the company. According to one independent study of the data storage market, demand for data storage capacity will increase sixfold by 2000. Network Appliance's products also offer IT departments good value for the money. Its core filer products are optimized for data access using embedded software. This substantially reduces overhead. For example, by integrating the filer's operating system with a RAID (redundant arrays of independent disks) storage subsystem, IT executives get higher reliability and performance at a lower cost. In addition, applications can be scaled easily because they remain separate from the data-storage system. This also makes installing and managing data storage simpler. Network Appliance recently launched its fifth-generation file-server architecture, the F700 series, which should help the company maintain its competitive edge. Demand for its Fibre Channel products is also growing rapidly as more IS managers try to match their disk-access speed with their network speed. The company continues to do well in the core Unix market, but it will run into more competition from PC vendors in the Windows NT market. And as Network Appliance migrates toward the commercial enterprise market, it will bump into larger competitors, such as EMC Corp. and Hewlett-Packard. Fortunately, today's market is big enough for everyone, and the company continues to win more than 70% of the contracts on which it bids. Another exciting business segment is Network Appliance's Web-caching appliance, NetCache. It's earned close to $10 million in its first two quarters on the market, and is projected to account for almost 10% of Network Appliance's revenue by the end of the fiscal year. So far, the bulk of sales have come from overseas because Web caching can save international Internet service providers a bundle on communications. Web caching could become more important to domestic ISPs when high-speed access technologies, such as asymmetric digital subscriber lines, become more widely adopted because Web caching will let them boost performance. CEO Daniel Warmenhoven is an experienced leader who's held senior positions at HP, IBM, and Network Equipment Technologies. His biggest challenge will be to manage the company's rapid growth. The direct sales force alone is expected to double to almost 140 by the end of fiscal 1999. Historically, Network Appliance has delivered consistently strong financial results with gross margins of close to 60% and operating margins of almost 20%. For fiscal 1998, which ended April 30, revenue was $166.2 million. The company earned 58 cents per share. It has no debt, and cash on the balance sheet has increased in line with revenue, allowing the company to fund its growth internally. I'm projecting earnings of 86 cents a share for fiscal 1999 and $1.20 per share in fiscal 2000. At $48, the company's stock is trading at 40 times expected 2000 earnings. That's reasonable for a company expected to increase earnings per share 35% to 40% annually. Network Appliance has strong technology and the financial wherewithal to stay around for the long haul. I wouldn't chase the stock, but I would buy on any dips. William Schaff is chief investment officer at Bay Isle Financial Corp. in San Francisco, which manages the InformationWeek 100 Stock Index. You can reach him at bschaff@bayisle.com. Ed Perry

To: Hal Campbell who wrote (3305)	9/1/1998
From: Ed Perry	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17679

My But What a Big Bear! Some random thoughts: 1. We will have an economic slowdown. If something stupid happens (in the middle east or the balkans) we could see a recession. 2. Nominal interest rates will have to come done (if they have not already - by defacto or in fact). 3. The Loise Yamada pitch of the magnificent big caps with their global exposure and their tie in to a booming world trade will now work in reverse - as a decellerator for the big caps. 4. The technology industry will take a hit. It has already started with the chipmakers. Next up are the hardware types then the software and finally the services. Between the slowdown and the dumping going on from asian producers, this fate is sealed. 5. The advantage (as I read recently) will go to the domestic service oriented business. For Ampex: 1. Even though they ship products, Ampex is more of a value added service firm in a specialized market niche. 2. If Ampex drifts to a net presence strategy (a uniquely US phenomenon), then the service orientation is even stronger. 3. As far as the acquisition strategy is concerned, Ampex is now in the drivers seat. Cash, a plan (please please), and financial wherewithall. Believe me, most of these tech company targets have great ideas but they have no business sense. What keeps them alive is a rising tide when it is there. OK, I'll come out of the cabinet and admit to being an IT industry worker. 4. Last month we had the funds dumping, this month we have the small over-margined investor dumping. All of this is taking place in the presence of a virtual information vacuum. I've been reading a little chaos theory lately and this downward spiral in the presence of no information is considered a dampening pump. It results in collapsing prices with no apparent explanation. As soon as positive information comes forward, the pump works in reverse, feeds upon itself and prices are jacked up beyond sustainable fundamentals. A constant flow of information (except for surprises) and analyst presence tends to buffer these effects with a well followed stock. With a micro, who knows? 5. I'm going to say bid 1 15/16 for the low to occur sometime over the next 4 market days. 6. AXC has been following a well defined channel since Feb 98 and has been drifting to the lower range of the channel since June. It is presently in a spillover position but the accompanying short term indicators are showing oversold and rebound being attempted. If one could subtract out the forced selling, then we would probably be seeing at least 1 1/2. 7. Going forward, at the present time, I'm not unhappy about being housed in a hammered down value stock with an information problem but flush with cash and with an ultra conservative financial type at the helm. Ed Perry