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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (78735)	11/12/1998 1:42:00 PM
From: jhg_in_kc	Respond to of 176387

Dell Seen Beating 3Q Street Views; Stock Dips Early By Christopher Grimes NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Wall Street is looking for Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) to beat official estimates when it reports third-quarter earnings Thursday afternoon. The top direct seller of PCs is expected to post earnings of 27 cents a share, according to a First Call Corp. consensus estimate. A year ago, Dell earned 18 cents a share, adjusted for a stock split. But analysts said they expect the company to beat the consensus estimate, extending Dell's long streak of overachievement. "I think they're going to beat consensus by at least a couple of pennies," said Richard Gardner, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney. "I think they had a good quarter and took a lot of market share." Dell's shares were recently down 2 1/2, or 3.5%, to 69 9/16 - after hitting a 52-week high of 73 1/2 Wednesday - on Nasdaq volume of 13.6 million. Average daily volume is 38.3 million. "It's a little profit-taking ahead of the (report)," said one trader. "They're going to make the number, no question." Not all the commentary ahead of Dell's report has been rosy, though. Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Inc. and a longtime Dell bull, issued a report earlier this week that said the company's growth likely slowed in the third quarter. He still anticipates the company will beat official forecasts, though, with an estimate of 28 cents a share. The so-called whisper number on Dell - the unofficial estimate that circulates in advance of a company's report - is 30 cents a share, according to an analyst. Some traders and analysts reported hearing numbers slightly above that, however. Between Oct. 8 - when Dell and other high-profile technology stocks got whacked - and Wednesday, the company's shares gained more than 52%. "Dell led us back," noted one trader. "From October 9, Dell was the general and all the little soldiers followed Dell back up." That Oct. 8 shelling, in which its shares closed at 48 7/16, took place only two weeks after Dell held a very bullish meeting with Wall Street analysts in Austin. At one point, Tom Meredith, the company's chief financial officer, implored investors to "ride the Dell train further," adding that its opportunities were "blue sky." Market-share data released in October seemed to back Meredith's optimism. According to Dataquest, Dell's worldwide PC shipments grew 61% in the calendar third quarter from a year ago. But the year-to-year comparisons "are a lagging indicator," countered Piper Jaffray's Kumar in an interview. He figures Dell's shipments grew 8% from the second quarter to the third, lagging behind the worldwide average of 10%. "Over the last three years, they outgrew the market by a factor of two to three times." But most of Dell's peers were rebounding in the third quarter from an incredibly depressed second quarter, which was marked by bloated inventory and price erosion. On Wednesday, Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) detailed a plan to sell PCs directly to small and medium-size businesses. Compaq's plan was seen as an effort to match the efficiencies of Dell's successful direct campaign. - Christopher Grimes; 201-938-5253 More about Dell Computer Corp.: From leading business publications From The Wall Street Journal Powered by Quote Agent® and News Agent® from IDD Information Services Copyright © 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.