Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : HWP -- Hewlett Packard -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BelowTheCrowd who wrote (2742)	11/13/1998 3:03:00 PM
From: William Partmann	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4722

By Binti Harvey, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 2:04 PM ET Nov 13, 1998 NewsWatch PALO ALTO, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. will report fourth-quarter earnings Monday and analysts are expecting strong results based on printer sales growth and rebounding computer sales. Wall Street expects the computer and printer manufacturer to earn a profit of 74 cents a share during the quarter, according to First Call. H-P earned 75 cents a year ago and 58 cents in the previous quarter. Earlier this week, BancBoston Robertson Stephens analyst Daniel Niles upgraded Hewlett-Packard (HWP) to "buy" from "long-term attractive" and forecast an upside surprise in Monday's report. "We believe that revenue, which slowed to 5 percent year over year, can return to near 20 percent growth levels in 1999 as PCs servers and printers rebound following the inventory pricing issues in the first half of 1998 and driven by new products," Niles said. Niles established a 12-month share price target of $80. Analysts also believe sales of printer products drove top-line growth in the fourth quarter. Richard Chu of SG Cowen Securities bumped his rating to a "strong buy" from "neutral" last week, citing H-P's growing market share in the digital hardcopy industry. According to Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Milunovich, laser printer unit sales rose 80 percent in September, expanding H-P's market share to 86.8 percent. Milunovich expects H-P to report laser printer sales growth in the neighborhood of 10 percent, compared to 7 percent in the prior quarter. Chu expects new laser printer, inkjet and scanner product lines to drive greater order momentum in the first quarter. Favorable currency conditions and disciplined expense control will also work in H-P's favor, analysts say. A weaker dollar will provide easier comparisons to year-ago results, while analysts expect management to show evidence of additional cost control measures. Expenses dwindled to 4 percent in the third quarter from 18 percent in the second quarter and Chu expects similar or lower levels in the most recent quarter