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Technology Stocks : PSFT - Fiscal 1998 - Discussion for the next year -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: WaveSeeker who wrote (2641)	10/13/1998 12:28:00 PM
From: bob gauthier	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4509

PLEASANTON, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- PeopleSoft shares tumbled 19 percent in heavy trading Tuesday afternoon after the company pulled out of an investment conference, CBS.MarketWatch.com has learned. A source at BT Alex. Brown confirmed that PeopleSoft's chief financial officer, Ron Codd, spoke with analyst Jim Moore on Monday evening and said the Pleasanton, Calif.-based company (PSFT) won't attend the investment bank's Tech '98 conference. PeopleSoft was to address the gathering of money managers at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. PeopleSoft representatives didn't immediately return calls. Moore wasn't immediately available for comment. The stock hit a new 52-week low, slipping 4 3/8 to 18 3/4. In the first two hours of trading, about 10 million shares changed hands, compared with 5.6 million during an average session. PeopleSoft cited the Securities and Exchange Commission-mandated "quiet period" as the reason it didn't want to address the conference. The quiet-period mandate prohibits companies from talking about business during the 30 days before they formally release quarterly results. However, most companies continue with investment conferences even in quiet periods. When a company pulls out of the gathering, some investors interpret that as a sign that the company has bad news that it wants to hide. PeopleSoft is scheduled to report earnings next Tuesday, with analysts expecting earnings of 17 cents per share on sales of $345 million. That compares with earnings of 11 cents per share on sales of $217 million in the same quarter last year. Those growth rates have been a concern among investors, and nearly half a dozen investment banks have lowered their ratings on PeopleSoft over the past week. The reason: concerns that businesses are delaying purchases of PeopleSoft applications as they spend money to fix the pending year 2000 problem. PeopleSoft also is facing increased competition. Consider that SAP (SAP) -- which has about three times the share of PeopleSoft in the market for software that helps businesses automate basic functions -- reported earnings and sales ahead of analysts' expectations.