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

To: Linda Kaplan who wrote (2472)	6/4/1999 10:58:00 AM
From: Jim Illo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3261

Squeeze week: 6/21-6/25 There has been talk on these boards before about starting a short-squeeze, but it has never been coordinated. I am proposing that we all call our brokers and ask them move our shares over to the cash side of our accounts or ask for the certificate to be delivered to us right after the TS2 trailer hits the theaters, FROM JUNE 21 THROUGH JUNE 25. I personally have 1200 share of Pixar, 300 of which I have certificates for. Some of my shares are needed to cover my margin, but I will be able to move 600 to my cash account. Also, I have a friend who has 100 shares, and I'm going to ask him do the same. So there is 700 shares that the shorts will have to cover. It's not much, but I would love to see the power of the internet really work for us small investors. If we can get several thousand, maybe even 100,000, shorts to cover in one week we could really start a squeeze. Especially with the trailer hitting theaters. I am posting this message on the following boards: Silicon Investor Yahoo Raging Bull Go.com IF ANYONE KNOWS ANY OTHER WAY TO GET THIS MESSAGE OUT TO MORE PIXAR SHAREHOLDERS, PLEASE DO SO! (How can we find out who the individuals are who own Pixar shares?) Linda, I agree, Disney does need Pixar. Since 1992, Pixar has produce the highest grossing animated films for Disney. Also, if you know any other boards to post my above message, please do so. And tell your friends!! Thanks, Jim

To: Linda Kaplan who wrote (2472)	6/6/1999 8:00:00 PM
From: Boussonbob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3261

I enjoy your analyses of PIXAR. I thought the thread would be interested in the article below from today's (Sunday) Money & Business section of the NY TIMES: Will Pixar Be the Hero of Hollywood Animation? By JOANNE LEGOMSKY A thinking person's cult stock: That may seem an odd characterization for Pixar, the maker of "A Bug's Life," the 1998 animated children's film that featured 750 computer-generated ants. But investors who are bullish on the company say its technical and creative prowess makes it one of the few pure high-technology media plays, as well as a favorite to win the Hollywood animation wars. Moreover, the company knows "how to create profitable franchises based on their movie characters," said Jeffrey Logsdon, an analyst with the Seidler Companies, a brokerage firm in Los Angeles. Consider "Toy Story," Pixar's first feature film, released in 1995. It generated $354 million in ticket sales worldwide. But profits on the $500 million -- in part through successful video sales and merchandising royalties as the film's animated characters were plastered on everything from toothbrushes to greeting cards. But analysts figure that Pixar, of Richmond, Calif., kept just $50 million of that profit, with the remainder going to the film's distributor, the Walt Disney Co. So Pixar's chief executive, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computer, negotiated what analysts say was a much more favorable deal with Disney in 1997. Under that pact, the two companies will split evenly Pixar's production costs and the profits from Pixar films, video, and merchandise sales. Logsdon expects "A Bug's Life," which has had ticket sales of $358 million so far, to earn Pixar $200 million in profits in its first 30 months. Pixar's stock has been notoriously volatile since its initial offering in November 1995. In the last 52 weeks, the shares have bounced between $27.50 and $66, and closed on Friday at $39.625. But bulls say investors who can stand the volatility may be in for a terrific ride. Logsdon expects earnings to double this year, to $1.39 a share, and to double again in 2000. That, he says, would justify a price-to-earnings multiple in the mid-40s, versus just TK today, and give the stock a share price of $60 in 12 to 18 months. "With each film, they're building their library of long-lived, extremely lucrative assets," said Stewart Halpern, an analyst with Furman Selz. Halpern said Pixar's expertise would become more valuable as digital processes became more important in the entertainment industry. He thinks the stock will hit $60 in 12 months. Key to Pixar's success is the company's technical leadership in computer-generated animation. It's technology is 20 percent to 40 percent cheaper than conventional hand-drawn animation and produces more lifelike textures and movements than those of rival studios, analysts say. One pitfall for Pixar, Halpern said, is that investors treat the opening of one of its films like the expiration of a stock option: Shares are bid up on heavy volume beforehand and sold afterward. Even investors who are bullish on Pixar may trade in and out of the stock. Susan Hirsch, manager of the Prudential Emerging Growth fund, who now owns Pixar shares, says there is a buying window from now until the release of "Toy Story 2" at Thanksgiving. But she thinks Pixar's unique animated products and access to the deep pockets of Disney's marketing machine hold longer-term promise. Short-sellers love Pixar, too: As of May 15, there was a three-million-share, or 6 percent, short position in the stock. But bulls that that Jobs is a better barometer -- and he has never sold any stock.