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December 21, 2000

Closing Market Numbers

DJIA             10487.29  +168.36  +1.63%
Nasdaq            2340.12    +7.34  +0.31%
S&P 500           1274.86   +10.12  +0.80%
Russell 2000       447.02    +3.23  +0.73%
30-Year Bond     112 9/32    -2/32   5.41% Yield

FOOL 50  (numbers temporarily unavailable)

Inside Today's QuickNews

1. Roundup: Todd Lebor on the wireless spectrum auction, Mike Trigg and John del Vecchio interview BroadVision's CEO, Fools on Palm, RealNetworks, Elan Pharmaceuticals, and more!
2. Today's Market Movers: Top news and active stocks.
3. Editors' Pick: One great feature you shouldn't miss.

STOCK TALK A QuickNews Extra
Interview with BroadVision's Chairman and CEO Pahong Chen
With Mike Trigg (TMF Tonto) and John Del Vecchio (TMF Fuz)

Redwood City, California-based BroadVision (Nasdaq: BVSN) helps companies set up Web-based portals for their enterprise software, allowing them to trade information not only online but using wireless devices. The Motley Fool's Mike Trigg and John Del Vecchio interviewed BroadVision Chairman and CEO Pehong Chen over the telephone on Dec. 8. The following is an edited excerpt from that conversation.
FULL STORY

STOCK RESEARCH FEATURE A QuickNews Extra
Elan Pharmaceuticals: A Biotech Contender
By Zeke Ashton (TMF Centaur)

The Foolish Biotech Checklist provides a useful framework for investors in both biotech and drug companies. Elan Pharmaceuticals is an intriguing case study, and a Foolish analysis shows that Elan may be an interesting investment idea based upon its Core Clinical Index score, diversified product portfolio, and impressive financials.
FULL STORY

RealNetworks Pounded
By Tom Jacobs (TMF Tom9)

Seattle streaming media entertainment company RealNetworks cut its Q4 profit estimates 50% after last night's close. Citing an Internet spending slowdown, CEO Rob Glaser projected earnings of $0.02 per share versus analysts' $0.04 expectation on revenue between $58 and $60 million. With $307 million in the bank, the company rightly says it's well-positioned to ride out soft PC sales and the decline in advertising revenues. Its long-term future, though, is very much a guess.
FULL STORY

A Penny for Your Stocks?
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible)

These past few months have made penny stocks out of quite a few unlikely equities. The names might surprise you. The carnage might frighten you. There is market risk not only in owning a penny stock, but also in taking a stake in the penny stocks of tomorrow. Unfortunately, we're not all penny stock investors by choice.
FULL STORY

Palm Edges Expectations
By Rex Moore (TMF Orangeblood)

Palm beat Q2 estimates by a penny yesterday, reporting record revenues. While facing slightly lower margins and a continuing component shortage, the company remains in a strong position as more people move to handheld computing. With the company's results and outlook good, investors seem to be reacting skittishly.
FULL STORY

Paychex Worth the Price
By Brian Lund (TMF Tardior)

Paychex reported second-quarter earnings in line with its results for the last five years. Revenue grew a steady 21% and net income the standard 36%. It's even hard to question the level of earnings management through investment income. Paychex simply continues to perform very well.
FULL STORY

DRIP PORTFOLIO A QuickNews Extra
Amazon Dropped from Study
By Jeff Fischer (TMF Jeff)

Drip Port's high-growth study drops Amazon from its list of contender companies. Amazon does not meet the study's criteria, which call for sustainable advantages, expanding possibilities for the company's existing businesses, and a strong balance sheet, among other qualities.
FULL STORY

FOOL PLATE SPECIAL An Investment Opinion
SEC Chairman to Resign
By Jay Perlman

SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt will resign early next year. In this article, we look back at his career as an advocate for the individual investor and voice the hope that his replacement will continue to give Fools a voice that is heard as clearly as that of Wall Street money managers.
FULL STORY

FOOL ON THE HILL An Investment Opinion
Earnings Cast a Shadow
By Richard McCaffery (TMF Gibson)

Read the financial pages and you'd think earnings and earnings growth tell you everything you need to know about valuing stocks. This isn't true, and the sooner investors know that the market knows it, the better off they'll be.
FULL STORY

RULE MAKER PORTFOLIO A QuickNews Extra
Wireless Struggle Over the Airwaves
By Todd N. Lebor (TMF TeeTime)

Spectrum rights have become one of the hottest commodities out there and the Federal Communications Commission is currently undergoing another round of auctions. Rights to the airwaves is a competitive advantage for wireless service providers, but is it worth the cost? American wireless service providers may have found a way around this problem.
FULL STORY

DAILY DOUBLE A QuickNews Extra
BARRA New Industry Standard
By David Langford

Investment analytical products company BARRA Inc. (Nasdaq: BARZ) really started taking off this year as its TotalRisk system began to sell to European customers over the summer, convincing investors that BARRA really was being accepted globally as the last word in risk management. A sharply dropping market, complete with numerous "fake bottoms," punctuated the need for better risk management, throwing a klieg light on the company, particularly for institutional investors.
FULL STORY

BREAKFAST WITH THE FOOL
Research in Motion Still on the Move
By Dave Marino-Nachison (TMF Braden)

Canadian mobile email access device maker Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) last night reported fiscal third-quarter (ended Nov. 30) results that beat Wall Street's estimates. The company turned in earnings of $0.02 per share, down from last year's $0.05 but better than the $0.01 loss projected by market analysts.
FULL STORY

Today's Market Movers

Ups

Shareholders of small-to-medium business software maker Great Plains Software (Nasdaq: GPSI) got a boost today when Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) bought the company for $1.1 billion. Great Plains shares jumped $11.25 to $46.56. David Vaskevitch, senior vice president for Microsoft's Business Applications division, said "We see this as our next major business, providing the software for small and medium businesses to run themselves.''  He added that "We see the opportunity for at least an Office-sized business here,'' with "on the order of about $10 billion a year'' for Microsoft. Currently unprofitable, Great Plains has watched its stock bounce all over the map in a 52-week range of $16 to $83.50.

AT&T Liberty Media (NYSE: LMG.A) rebounded $1.06 to $11.81, after closing yesterday at a 52-week low of $10.75. The future of the company, a tracking stock for AT&T's (NYSE: T) John Malone-led media holding company, is in limbo. The FCC's regulations on cable ownership require AT&T to divest some assets by May 19, 2001, to comply with conditions for its purchase of cable company MediaOne Group Inc. AT&T would apparently prefer to spin off Liberty, if the IRS will give the deal a favorable tax ruling. The alternative would be to shed its 30% share of Time Warner Entertainment, but the only likely buyer, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), would have pricing power distasteful to AT&T. Jeff Fischer covered AT&T's earnings warning yesterday.

Internet broadband communications giant Qwest (NYSE: Q) lit up $5.13 to finish at $37.50, after it stuck by earnings estimates for the current quarter and year, along with annual 15-17% revenue and 20% earnings growth for the next five years. With its stock scraping 52-week lows after a 38% drop since its June merger with US West, the company responded to fears fanned by recent SBC Communications (NYSE: SBC) and AT&T earnings warnings. Joe Nacchio, Qwest chairman and chief executive, said his company would avoid its competitors' errors. "When they're having problems, we don't all catch pneumonia," Nacchio said in a conference call.

Downs

No one was hand-holding PDA hardware and software maker Palm Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) today. Despite posting earnings that beat Street expectations, the stock slid $12.50 to $25.63, a whopping 33%. Palm rang up $522.2 million in revenue, for its fourth straight quarter of 100% year-over-year growth, and EPS of $0.05 that beat estimates by a penny. Rex Moore detailed the results today, and Fools dueled over the company in September. You can learn all about PDAs at the Fool's Wireless Buyer's Guide.  

Streaming media software and entertainment company RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK) fell steeply, down $4.38 to $5.56 after warning investors yesterday that its Q4 would show an earnings and revenue slowdown. Company execs forecast Q4 EPS of $0.02, versus $0.04 expectations. Tom Jacobs analyzed the news.

Flash memory storage maker SanDisk Corp. (Nasdaq: SNDK) erased $10.19 to close at $34.38 today on a downgrade by Merrill Lynch. Long term, a Foolish investor might think that with the company's earnings for 2000 (without Q1 adjustments) projected to come in almost 200% over last year, along with more than doubled revenues, SanDisk would be sitting pretty at a P/E now of about 27. SanDisk's close puts it 80% off its 52-week high of $169.63.

Wireless communication component maker Conexant Systems (Nasdaq: CNXT) gave up $6.38 to end at $14 after announcing that it would post a Q1 loss of $0.05 to $0.10, rather than estimated EPS of $0.11. The company projects revenue of $400 to $425 million -- 20% lower than previous estimates -- for its products used in PCs, fax machines, and satellite TV set-top boxes.  

Data and video projector manufacturer InFocus (Nasdaq: INFS) slid $7.56 to close at $14.06 after warning that its Q4 EPS will range from $0.22 to $0.25, barely within shouting distance of First Call/Thomson estimates of $0.45. The company cited weakening economy and components shortages -- particularly of projector lamps. No wonder replacement bulbs cost so much.

Editors' Pick: One Great Feature You Shouldn't Miss