Cisco Soars
...and Atlas Air's on the runway
By Greg Markus
(TMF Boring)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (July 20, 1998) -- The Nasdaq rose 0.27% to set its ninth consecutive new high, but the S&P 500 and Dow fell slightly Monday. The Boring Portfolio gained 0.76%, thanks to continued strength in shares of Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO).
CSCO tacked $3 1/2 onto Friday's $4 surge to close at $103 3/16, an all-time high and the stock's first-ever close above $100 (on a split-adjusted basis).
Cisco Systems has now surpassed the $100 billion mark in market capitalization. Although growth in the data networking has "slowed" to perhaps a 20-25% annual rate, the company is aggressively targeting new growth opportunities in voice and video communications.
Just today, for example, Cisco and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced an extension of their partnership to offer "streaming media" technology for delivering multimedia voice and video over computer networks.
The news coincided with the Networked Multimedia Connection Showcase in San Jose, Calif., an event sponsored by co-founders Cisco, Microsoft, and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and intended to accelerate the adoption of networked multimedia applications. You can learn more about it at http://www.nmc-info.org.
The technology trio has been referred to from time to time -- including on the Cisco campus -- as "Wintelco."
If you'll excuse me for saying so, I think that at least as far as some of the more recent news from the partnership goes, a more appropriate moniker might be "Cistelsoft" -- to indicate where the leadership is coming from.
Elsewhere in the Borefolio, Atlas Air (NYSE: CGO) is slated to release its second-quarter earnings results this coming Wednesday morning, July 22, with a conference call to follow.
According to First Call, analysts are looking for earnings of $0.40 per share -- far above the $0.16 (ex one-time items) that the company reported a year ago as it grappled with trying to keep five lemons leased from FedEx (NYSE: FDX) aloft.
Those troubled aircraft were returned to FedEx at the end of last year, and Atlas is looking forward to the delivery of its first new 747-400 from Boeing (NYSE: NYSE) on July 28. Four additional new freighters will be delivered in 1998, four in 1999 and one in 2000.
You may have read in the news recently about the various glitches plaguing the opening days of Hong Kong's new HACTL air cargo facility. The $20 billion airport was completely unable to handle any loading or unloading of shipments for almost two weeks but is now reportedly operating at around half-speed.
I called Atlas Air today to find out whether the Hong Kong snafu had affected their business any. An Atlas spokesman said that it has had no particular effect, since only one of Atlas's contracted carriers flies regularly into Hong Kong.
Atlas's stock gained $9/16 to $37.
Stock Change Bid ANDW + 5/16 18.38 CGO + 9/16 37.00 BGP - 1/4 37.69 CSL --- 47.19 CSCO +3 1/2 103.19 FCH + 1/16 30.75 PNR - 3/16 41.75 TBY - 1/8 8.56 |
Day Month Year History
BORING +0.76% 4.40% 8.87% 36.99%
S&P: -0.22% 4.43% 22.02% 90.49%
NASDAQ: +0.27% 6.31% 28.27% 93.50%
Rec'd # Security In At Now Change
2/28/96 400 Borders Gr 11.26 37.69 234.81%
6/26/96 150 Cisco Syst 35.93 103.19 187.16%
8/13/96 200 Carlisle C 26.32 47.19 79.25%
3/5/97 150 Atlas Air 23.06 37.00 60.46%
4/14/98 100 Pentair 43.74 41.75 -4.56%
5/20/98 400 TCBY Enter 10.05 8.56 -14.76%
11/6/97 200 FelCor Sui 37.59 30.75 -18.20%
1/21/98 200 Andrew Cor 26.09 18.38 -29.57%
Rec'd # Security In At Value Change
2/28/96 400 Borders Gr 4502.49 15075.00 $10572.51
6/26/96 150 Cisco Syst 5389.99 15478.13 $10088.14
8/13/96 200 Carlisle C 5264.99 9437.50 $4172.51
3/5/97 150 Atlas Air 3458.74 5550.00 $2091.26
4/14/98 100 Pentair 4374.25 4175.00 -$199.25
5/20/98 400 TCBY Enter 4018.00 3425.00 -$593.00
11/6/97 200 FelCor Sui 7518.00 6150.00 -$1368.00
1/21/98 200 Andrew Cor 5218.00 3675.00 -$1543.00
CASH $5528.69
TOTAL $68494.32
