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

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (6664)	1/13/1999 8:18:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 7841

14:55 T =Disk-Drive Stks -2: Quantum Leads Group, Reaches 52-Wk High NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Bucking declines in the broader market, shares of disk-drive makers rose sharply Wednesday on the back of stellar quarterly earnings from industry standout Seagate Technology Inc. (SEG). "Seagate had a great quarter, so naturally that excites everyone," NationsBanc Montgomery Securities Inc. analyst Paul Fox said. Aside from beating Wall Street's fiscal second-quarter earnings estimates by 16 cents a share, Seagate nourished investor confidence in the disk-drive industry by saying demand for its products remains relatively robust as it moves into 1999, Gruntal & Co. analyst David Takata said. That is uncommonly good news because after sapping their wallets during the holiday season, both consumers and corporations buy fewer computers in the first quarter of the new year. Disk-drive makers, therefore, usually report a decline in earnings from the year-end quarter to the first quarter of the new year. But Seagate, flying in the face of that tradition, forecast flat to modest earnings growth for its first period of 1999. By contrast, "flatness is normally a good thing, and negative is acceptable," for that period, Takata said. Among disk-drive advancers Wednesday, Quantum Corp. (QNTM) led the way, gaining 2 15/16, or 11.4%, to 28 3/4, eclipsing its 52-week high of 26 13/16, set Feb. 17. The shares rose to an intraday high of 28 7/8 earlier. Meanwhile, Western Digital Corp. (WDC) rose 1 3/4, or 9%, to 21 1/4, and Maxtor Corp. (MXTR) jumped 1 3/4, or 10.3%, to 18 11/16. (MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 01-13-99 02:55 PM

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (6664)	1/13/1999 8:19:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 7841

Dow Jones: 15:51 Disk-Drive Stks -3: Seagate Cites Scaled-Back Inventories Seagate, of Scotts Valley, Calif., earned $104 million, or 42 cents a share, on revenue of $1.8 billion, in its fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 1, beating analysts' consensus estimate of 26 cents a share, as compiled by First Call Corp. Along with brisk demand, the company cited scaled-back inventories among suppliers and computer makers for its impressive results. Shares of Seagate recently were up 2 1/2, or 6.4% at 41 7/16 on volume of 9.4 million, compared with average daily volume of 2.7 million. Earlier Wednesday, the shares traded at a 52-week high of 42 1/2, surpassing the previous high of 39 3/4 set on Thursday, Jan. 7. Gruntal & Co.'s Takata noted that internal cost reductions and increased efficiency played a part in Seagate's strong quarterly earnings. But keen demand industrywide for both high- and low-end disk drives probably added about $100 million to Seagate's top line in the final stretch of the quarter, Takata estimated. That bodes well for other makers and components suppliers. Indeed, Hutchinson Technology Inc. (HTCH), a maker of disk-drive parts, posted earnings of 52 cents a share for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 27, compared with the year-ago's loss of 58 cents. Analysts had expected the company to earn far less, Takata said. Hutchinson Technology's stock recently rose 3/8, or 0.8%, to 44 1/2 on above-average volume. Earlier Wednesday the shares traded at a 52-week high of 48 1/8, surpassing the previous high of 45 5/8 set Thursday. Shares of fellow components-maker Read-Rite Corp. (RDRT) rose 3/8, or 2%, to 18 15/16. Read-Rite shares also set a 52-week high on Thursday, trading at 20 9/16. - Scott Eden; 201-938-5173 (END) DOW JONES NEWS 01-13-99 03:51 PM