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

To: Sarmad Y. Hermiz who wrote (59887)	6/2/1999 10:55:00 AM
From: Jan Crawley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Are you on the gloom and doom side Sarmad, don't forget your "$40K to $200K" long and lonely road? My net portfolio holds just that 200 shares Amzn right now, will just keep working on it. But there is no "killing play".

To: Sarmad Y. Hermiz who wrote (59887)	6/2/1999 11:14:00 AM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164684

Sarmad, I don't think you were here a year ago? Back then I posted that Vinik was the first to capture, then Amzn's very small float. Although Amzn is not mentioned specifically, I believe he was the starter of the first short squeeze that Glenn and I ran into. You asked me the other day about hedging. Look below, now you'll understand it better. >> June 2, 1999 BOSTON -- Jeffrey Vinik, former manager of Fidelity Investments' flagship Magellan Fund, cut his U.S. stock holdings by about $3 billion, or 79 percent, during the first quarter, regulatory filings show. Vinik's fund, the $2.5 billion Vinik Asset Management, had $817 million in 62 U.S. stocks at the end of March, compared with $3.8 billion in more than 150 domestic equities at the end of 1998, according to Securities and Exchange Commission papers. He sold his stakes in Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp., among others. Paring his holdings didn't help returns, which totaled 1 percent in the first four months of the year, investors said. Vinik doesn't have to say how or why he reduced his stocks because hedge funds, portfolios for wealthy individuals and institutions, are excluded from most disclosure requirements. "He's probably reduced leverage and he's probably not as long the market," said Fred Hult, research analyst at New York-based Carson Group, which tracks SEC filings. It could also mean he has more positions overseas, or used the money to buy stock derivatives that don't have to be reported to the SEC, Hult said. Vinik's fund climbed 45 percent after fees in 1998, and 77 percent in 1997. His performance in the first quarter may have led him to sell his portfolio to invest anew, said a person who knows Vinik. Mark Hostetter, chief operating officer at Vinik's firm, declined to comment on the portfolio. Vinik bets on falling as well as rising shares. He doesn't have to report short positions -- wagers that prices will decline -- to the SEC. While at Fidelity, Vinik was known for active trading that could change much of the Magellan portfolio each quarter. In late 1995, for example, he started loading up on bonds and by early 1996 he had 19 percent of the then-$55-billion fund in U.S. Treasuries. The bond market soured and Magellan's performance plummeted. Vinik resigned in May 1996 to start his own firm. He hasn't altered his trading habits and the fund may look different than it did at the end of March. SEC filings showed Vinik sold his entire 2.4 million share position in Rational Software Corp. by the end of March. In May, he told the SEC he owned 5.9 percent of the Cupertino-based company. Vinik loaded up with gambling shares in the first three months of the year. Circus Circus Enterprise Inc. was his fourth-biggest holding at the end of March. He also added Mirage Resorts Inc., Park Place Entertainment Corp. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. to his portfolio. His largest holdings as of March 31 were American Eagle Outfitters Inc., Comverse Technology Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Federated Investments Inc.<<