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Strategies & Market Trends : Market Gems:Stocks w/Strong Earnings and High Tech. Rank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TWICK who wrote (21087)	1/2/1999 5:25:00 PM
From: j g cordes	Respond to of 120523

Twick, I remembered reading WSTL being part of a rebound list for '99. Here's the article: "THE DAY AHEAD: Some of 1998's tech laggards show potential By Larry Dignan TDAIN December 29, 1998 7:40am ZDII If you're looking for 1999's winners, it may pay to check out some of 1998's losers. Some of these companies are down for the count, but others are rebound candidates. Telecommunications equipment and software companies were among the biggest losers for the year ending Dec. 16. And some of them have a solid chance of making a comeback in 1999. We'll start with the telecommunications equipment companies. Ciena Corp. (Nasdaq: CIEN) was among the biggest losers for 1998, down 75 percent for the year. Ciena's merger with Tellabs Inc. (Nasdaq: TLAB) fell apart, competition heated up, and the company dropped the ball on some key contracts. But Ciena has won new customers and could return to the glory days. It's still too early to claim Ciena is back, but shares are likely to jump from current levels. While Ciena's fundamentals may spark a rebound in 1999, takeover talk should give some of 1998's dogs a run in 1999. These jumps, however, may only last a day. PairGain Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: PAIR) was down 60 percent for the year because it can't get it together. Just when you think PairGain has its financial act together, the company stumbles. Despite that spotty record, PairGain will emerge as a takeover candidate at some point in 1999. Same story with the perpetually disappointing Westell Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: WSTL) and Premisys Communications (Nasdaq: PRMS). And let's not forget Cabletron (NYSE: CS), a networking company, that could be acquired by a better-managed competitor. All three were down more than 44 percent. Westell, Premisys, and PairGain are stocks to buy and wait until a rumor drives shares up. Ciena could be a longer-term holding. And speaking of longer-term holdings, there are a few companies on the mend that are poised for a rebound in 1999. PeopleSoft Inc. (Nasdaq: PSFT) was down almost 52 percent for the year, but don't expect it to stay there. The company has good management and is refocusing to recapture its previous growth. PeopleSoft biggest crime is not living up to huge expectations. Once Wall Street amends its estimates, PeopleSoft will be a player again. Cambridge Technology Partners (Nasdaq: CATP), down 50 percent for the year, is another company that was thumped. But the worst may be over. Shares of Cambridge could surge once good news reappears in 1999. Other possible movers for 1999 include VocalTec Communications (Nasdaq: VOCLF) and NetSpeak Inc. (Nasdaq: NSPK), down 45 percent and 63 percent for the year, respectively. This duo of disappointment was supposed to be big gainers in 1998 as Internet telephony took off. Both are also potential takeover targets. A series of announcements in recent months indicate increasing telephony interoperability with VocalTec and Netspeak products. If Internet telephony becomes the norm, both of these companies will show promise. Netspeak and VocalTec are working closely with bigger players such as Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU). Some of these dogs will stay that way, but with a few educated guesses there could be big gains ahead." Jim