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Technology Stocks : MRV Communications (MRVC) opinions? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ItsAllCyclical who wrote (10624)	9/2/1998 1:55:00 AM
From: signist	Respond to of 42804

Battered MRV Communications (MRVC) says it will buy back up to 1 million shares: that's $6 million or so. cbs.marketwatch.com SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Who's going to be the first to get caught in the bear trap? That's the question some corporate treasurers must be asking after dozens of companies unveiled stock buyback programs, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other U.S. stock indexes sharply Tuesday. So far this week, stock buybacks are streaming in at a steady pace, as they did in the October 1987 and October 1997 crashes. Technology companies, however, were noticeably absent. Boeing (BA) was the first big company to test the waters. Boeing says it could buy back up to 15 percent of the aircraft maker's crashing stock. That's 15 percent of 1 billion shares. No one expects Boeing to spend cash to buy back all those shares, which are worth $4.5 billion at current levels. But it's a nice gesture. Another biggie Tuesday: Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI), the newspaper company, said it would purchase up to $250 million of its shares, which until early August had withstood the summer slide. "At current prices, Gannett's stock represents an attractive investment opportunity,'' John J. Curley, chairman and chief executive officer, and Douglas H. McCorkindale, vice chairman and president, said in a statement. Almost 1,000 publicly traded companies in the U.S. stock market have bought back shares this year, according to Securities Data Co. Potential size: more than $130 billion. No wonder. After the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased its gain for the year and more, CEOs are seeing the value of their stock options evaporate. One thing company directors do to influence shareholder perception of their actions during periods of market turmoil is to say they will buy back shares. Some follow through with actual buying; others never do. Advanced Health (ADVH) approved a buyback of as much as 35 percent of its shares. Jewelry maker Zale Corp. (ZLC) said it could buy up to $50 million of its stock. (For more buybacks: click here.) APAC Teleservices (APAC) says it will buy back up to 5 percent of its stock. Wausau-Mosinee (WMO) approved a 10 percent stock buyback. Even the board of directors of battered Computer Learning (CLCX), a favorite of short-sellers this year, said it would seek to buy back 1 million shares. Let's see if some of the heavyweights step up to the buyback plate Tuesday. So far this week, drug maker Merck & Co. (MRK) and restaurant company Wendy's International (WEN) are on the record saying they are buying their tumbling shares on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. CBS MarketWatch chief economist Irwin Kellner says now is not the time for small fry investors to follow corporate treasurers into the U.S. stock market. "Just sit tight and wait," says Kellner. "Remember, September and October tend to be bad months for equities. The Federal Reserve must cut rates; it won't solve international problems, but it will keep the U.S. from being dragged down by falling stocks." As for those buybacks, media and cable company Viacom Inc. (VIA) is in the billion-dollar buyback league this week, along with Boeing. Last time we went through this severe a tumble, no less than IBM (IBM) and Intel (INTC), within the context of the computer chip maker's previous buyback program, boosted the overall U.S. stock market by buying their own shares. That was last October, and the buybacks were in the billion-dollar league. On Tuesday? Viagrafix Corp. (VIAX), its shares having lost three-quarters of their value since April, said it would buy back up to $3 million of shares in the open market. Not too impressive, right? Well, it's actually about 10 percent of the company's common shares at current prices. Battered MRV Communications (MRVC) says it will buy back up to 1 million shares: that's $6 million or so. Others included Avis Rent A Car (AVI), which says it will purchase up to 1.5 million of its 36 million shares. That could add up to $25 million. And Frontier Oil (FTO), in a long-suffering energy group, said it will buy up to 11 percent of its outstanding shares -- that's about $18 million worth. Shares of both rose more than 10 percent. Investors would like to see some of the stalwart stocks of this sticky summer, like Microsoft (MSFT), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Cisco Systems (CSCO), open their wallets and actually do some buying. And perhaps they are. Let's just hope treasurers aren't buying those shares on margin. Thom Calandra is CBS MarketWatch's editor-in-chief.