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Technology Stocks : Disk Drive Sector Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James Calladine who wrote (6303)	5/10/1999 7:34:00 PM
From: Stitch	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 9256

Jim, <<The drive manufacturers are obviously squeezed by the PC manufacturers who are squeezed by $400 PC's and MSFT, so do you see them returning to health other than by one of the them falling out? I am presently in MXTR which looks to me a good bet, but is it? Is this the segment to be in?>> That last question is one we ask ourselves on this thread a great deal. The DD sector has been out of favor for so very long that the fact that we have any posts at all is an extraordinary statement about the levels of man's tenacity (stubborness). But I remain a DD enthusiast though I am also an insider, without apology, and have been for 29 years now. To me, it is truly one of the more remarkable industrial stories ever. The real question is whether it is a sector to be in from an investment standpoint. I say yes for the obvious reason(s) of demand. The demand side looks very healthy. I am especially interested in the emergence of new, non PC, storage requirements for the very reason you allude to. The PC industry that has driven us has been downloading a great deal of risk over the last several quarters and I do not believe it will stop. As to whether Maxtor is a good selection, I believe it is one of them. Their execution has been extremely good over the last couple of years and I see no sign of a misstep going forward. The stock has been clobbered, I believe, by selling pressure from their largest shareholder. I see Maxtor as a player in the recovery scenario. That means, IMO, we should see good appreciation at some point forward. I have had to average my price down but am holding presently at 7.25 per share. <<Relative to HTCH, it looks like it can be seriously profitable under some circumstances. What do you see as their prospects?>> HTCH could wind up dominating a particular niche in the supply chain IMO. It is an increasingly visible part of that chain as well since HTCH-like technology (wireless suspensions and microactuators in the future) are key enablers to future recording density gains. The risk is that Hutch continues to fumble with their process and gives tme to an emerging comeptitor. But I do not see that competitor on the horizon and if we can believe Hutch they are making progress in yields. <<I am also in HMTT and RDRT believing that they can somehow resurrect themselves.>> I made a little money trading Komag a few months ago and recently lost a little trading Read Rite. But in the main I do not like any of the head/media stocks. They are financially battered companies racing to take second source positions. And the American companies (HMTT, RDRT, APM, KMAG) are being badley beaten by the Japanese companies (Fuji Electric, Showa Denko, Hoya, Mitsubishi Chemical, TDK, Yamaha, ALPS, Sony). I really would not touch this sector. Best, Stitch