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

To: Ausdauer who wrote (3959)	2/24/1999 4:43:00 PM
From: lebo	Respond to of 4135

It is impossible to tell. Closing at its high (or close) of the day would suggest it is insider.

To: Ausdauer who wrote (3959)	2/24/1999 4:44:00 PM
From: Neil H	Respond to of 4135

Investors Return To Xylan - Dow Jones News Investors Return To Xylan As Company Rebounds From Weakness Dow Jones Online News, Wednesday, February 24, 1999 at 15:46 By Joelle Tessler, Staff Reporter NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Data-networking firm Xylan Corp. shares rose Wednesday as the stock continued to recover after months of languishing on concerns that the company wouldn't meet its aggressive growth projections. Wednesday's gains come after the stock surged 14% Monday on takeover speculation. In afternoon trading, Xylan shares (XYLN) were up $3.125, or 14% at $25.125 on volume of 5.8 million, compared with a daily average of about 987,000. According to Nutmeg Securities analyst Andy Schopick, the shares have "broken out," attracting momentum players, as investors realized Xylan did in fact come quite to close to meeting its 1998 growth estimates and appears to be on track for strong growth again in 1999. "The company has performed beautifully," Schopick said. "They have done what they said they would do." Xylan (XYLN) promised at the start of 1998 that it would deliver double-digit revenue growth in every quarter of the year. Investors became skeptical in the second half, however, since the company is so dependent on original equipment manufacturer sales to two key customers - Alcatel SA (ALA) and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM). Sales to both companies have shown signs of slowing. But Xylan has been building up its non-OEM sales and trying to add new OEM customers. And Schopick believes the company's revenue and earnings-per-share growth could approach 30% in 1999. The stock, he added, is playing catch-up after falling to as low as $9.625 in September. "It was very undervalued," he said. Xylan has been buying back its shares, Schopick said, a sign it believes the stock is undervalued and is attempting to increase shareholder value and future earnings per share by reducing the number of shares outstanding. The company spent $53.3 million to buy back 2.5 million shares last year, according to Schopick. Xylan's stock has also benefited this week from rumors that a big telecommunications equipment supplier like Alcatel or Siemens AG could try to buy the company. As one of a handful of publicly traded networking companies that is still independent, Xylan is seen as a potential takeover target for a telecom-equipment company seeking to expand its presence in data networking. The convergence of voice and data networks has driven a number of acquisitions of data-networking companies by telecom-equipment makers, sparking many rumors that more deals are to come. Xylan itself has helped fuel this speculation this week by saying it believes its stock is undervalued and would look at any reasonable way to increase shareholder value. - Joelle Tessler; 201-938-5285 Copyright (c) 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Regards Neil