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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greg Peckton who wrote (48580)	4/2/1999 9:17:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Merrill loses another top technology analyst NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc. <MER.N> on Thursday said one of its top technology stocks analysts is retiring, the third leading tech analyst to leave the nation's largest brokerage in under two months. Joe Bellace, a well-known computer networking and telecommunications equipment analyst, is retiring after 16 years with Merrill Lynch. The veteran analyst, who covered such companies as Cisco Systems Inc. <CSCO.O> and Lucent Technologies Inc. <LU.N>, was ranked No. 1 by the influential Institutional Investor magazine in nine out of the past 10 years. Bellace's departure marks the third time Merrill has lost a top technology analyst in less than two months. The firm's Internet stocks analyst, Jonathan Cohen, left Feb. 4 to join upstart online investment bank Wit Capital Corp. in New York. A week later, Thomas Kurlak, one of Wall Street's most influential computer chip analysts and a 20-year Merrill veteran, quit to join Tiger Management, the hedge fund company run by billionaire investor Julian Robertson. "It's all different opportunities, different cases," Merrill Lynch spokeswoman Susan McCabe said. In response to a question, she denied the firm's technology research group was falling apart. To be sure, the head of Merrill's technology research, Steve Milunovich, who covers big computer computer companies like International Business Machines Corp. <IBM.N>, remains at his post. Bellace will remain with Merrill as a consultant for several months, McCabe said, adding the firm has not yet named a replacement for him. Merrill promoted semiconductor analyst Joseph Osha to replace Kurlak and hired former CIBC Oppenheimer Internet analyst Henry Blodget to succeed Cohen. The latter move raised some eyebrows on Wall Street because Blodget is known for his bullish calls on such stocks as online bookseller Amazon.com Inc. <AMZN.O>, whereas Cohen had said that stock was grossly overvalued.