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Technology Stocks : XYBR - Xybernaut -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rrufff who wrote (1817)	12/25/1998 1:53:00 PM
From: Dave Shoe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6847

Datek allows buying on margin if it closes above five, it just doesn't allow 'short selling' at these levels. I don't short sell, so I don't understand those rules. I think some brokers use another dollar value - maybe 4, maybe 6 - for margin calls. I have Schwab and E-Trade accounts, but those websites are so frustratingly slow I'm not going to bother checking them for margin status. At any rate, the Xybernaut dive of August 1998 was margin-call related due to a drift back below five. (It taught me a lesson.) Lots of folk got stung when they were forced to sell half their stock (the margined half) at low dollar levels when their broker pulled the stock in. These were low volume days, too, and the selling glut caused a steep decline in price. I don't think many folk have ventured into margining Xybernaut since then (or since Dec 10, when it became marginable most recently), but if so, you may see some forced selling over the next day or two. Assuming things at Xybernaut are on track, this would create a 'bargain' price situation. The lack of sales info has made me question whether things are actually on track, however. I suspect many investors, though confident with prospects, are wondering too. This may keep buyers on the sidelines waiting for solid news. Interestingly, the press release fifteen minutes before the close on Nov 30 was intended (IMO) to bump the price from 4 15/16 to well above 5 to prevent margin calls and to hopefully lift the stock well away from the 5 level. It worked for a couple days. I was a bit bummed this only Comdex announcement wasn't timed to coincide with the close of the Comdex event. It came a week or two after the end of Comdex. Spooky again, as the lack of timely Comdex news seemed to cause the drift downward in the first place. Solid sales numbers will sustainably loft Xybr well above the margin-call level, allowing bolder purchasing habits to return, at least for me. Again, this is all pretty much just my bad opinion. Shoe.