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Technology Stocks : AMERITECH (AIT): -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TLindt who wrote (38)	12/4/1998 5:39:00 AM
From: TLindt	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 57

I'm gonna buy some more why not? biz.yahoo.com Thursday December 3, 6:23 pm Eastern Time RESEARCH ALERT - Details on telecom upgrades NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch said Thursday it raised its ratings on some of the regional Bell operating companies and GTE Corp. (NYSE:GTE - news), citing expectations for solid earnings growth in 1999 and the closing of pending mergers, as well as attractive stock valuations. -- said raised the long-term ratings of Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE:BEL - news), SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC - news) and Ameritech Corp. (NYSE:AIT - news) to buy from accumulate, but kept the near-term ratings at accumulate. -- said raised GTE Corp.'s (NYSE:GTE - news) near- and long-term ratings to buy from accumulate and highlighted the stock as its top pick in the U.S. telecommunications services sector. -- said stock valuations are ''compelling'' at an average 22 percent discount to the Standard & Poor's. -- said the group's average share price could increase 25 percent to 30 percent over the next 12 months. -- said strong demand from data, Internet services, high-speed lines and vertical services, such as call waiting or Caller ID, should drive average revenue growth of almost 8 percent in 1999, consistent with growth seen in 1998. -- said cost-cutting, productivity improvements and diminished dilution from investments such as PCS (personal communications services) will boost the group's earnings growth to 10 percent to 12 percent. -- said expects the proposed mergers of GTE-Bell Atlantic and SBC-Ameritech to close in the second half of 1999. Said regulatory and shareholder approvals of the deals will provide a catalyst for further share price increases among the group as the cloud of regulatory uncertainty lifts.