|
Sage Host: Please welcome Mark Urban, Executive Vice President of
Equity Research with StockTradersPress.com.
For more information visit www.stocktraderspress.com.
Mark Urban: Happy to be aboard. We've had an extremely
volatile last two months. I think the Federal Reserve is nearing
the end of its rate hikes, and we're gearing up for a more than
active summer than we normally see.
The Chat
Question: Do you think that last week's move on
the Nasdaq Composite Index [$COMPX] was a sucker's rally or the
start of a summer rally?
Mark Urban: I do not think it was a sucker's
rally. I think there was a lot of professional money on the side
waiting to come in. I think that is clear for the lack of a
selloff today. We had a fairly substantial gain last week and
there were a lot of value companies, especially on the Nasdaq,
that were cheap. I think we will have a fairly active summer
rally.
Question: Technically speaking, once a stock
breaks into new high territory, when are the sell signals
given?
Mark Urban: We would like to find continued buying above
normal levels, which is what we'll see initially to get into that
breakout. We'd like to see that continue and we continue to check
the book size, meaning the bid and offer, each day on that stock.
Finding an actual sell price is very much on an individual basis
for each stock.
Question: What are your comments on Dell Computer
Corporation [DELL] for the next six to 12 months?
Mark Urban: I bought at $55. Dell is
certainly a quality company, a leader in its group. I think
Michael Dell, the CEO, has some more things on the horizon which
will make stockholders happy. If you own at $55, I wouldn't be
overly concerned about it. You're off about 10 points right now.
Your six to 12 month outlook is good. I'd lean towards a target
somewhere north of $75.
Question: Are financial stocks a good buy at this time
and, if so, which are your favorites?
Mark Urban: I do think the financials are good.
Obviously, some of them have taken a substantial run up over the
last 30 to 60 days. My favorites among that group are Citigroup
Inc. [C] and The Chase Manhattan Corporation [CMB],
and I do like them for the long-term.
Question: With rising interest rates (higher borrowing
costs and lower earnings, in many cases) crude oil is back to
close to $30 a barrel and many stocks, including many "old
economy" issues with very high price-to-earnings ratio's, why
invest now?
Mark Urban: Any time of year you could find a
reason to invest and a reason not to invest. I think you have to
look at each sector, find out what sector is really working and
within that sector what stock is really working. Interest rates,
high oil prices and the related higher costs to some corporations
again have to be taken on a company by company basis. Some
companies will profit from this. Oil services companies, Schlumberger
Limited [SLB] for example, have done well over the last
couple of months. Banking stocks/financials, which typically don't
do well in a rising interest rate market, have done very well.
They often pass their extra costs, unfortunately, on to the
consumers. But, there are some companies you want to steer clear
from during these times of rising oil prices and rising interest
rates.
Question: What do you think of high fliers like JDS
Uniphase Corporation [JDSU] and QUALCOMM
Incorporated [QCOM]?
Mark Urban: I don't think I would categorize them
as high flyers, although we've seen with much of the rest of the
market some tremendous spikes in March, and then stock prices come
down to reasonable levels. JDS Uniphase, I think, is fairly
valued and a very good company that will continue to do well. Over
both the short- and long-term. QUALCOMM is also a leader in
its industry, and I think the general investing population pushed
many, many high tech companies into the very upper stratosphere of
their trading range, if not making new highs altogether. Some of
them have come back in line and some of them haven't, but QUALCOMM
is one that's fairly valued and should be trading at somewhat
higher multiples than most technology companies. There were a
number of companies within the technology sector that were trading
way above their fair value.
Closing Remarks
Sage Host: Thank you for joining
us today, Mark! Any parting shots?
Mark Urban: I just want to thank you for having me on. I
wish you all the best of luck. I think we look to have an active
summer. If you have further need for advice, you can certainly
contact stocktraderspress.com.
Thank you.
* * * Thanks to SageLion for hosting this chat.
First Editor: Sagecola
Final
Editor: SageSMP
Transcript has been modified by Sage Online. Neither Sage
Online nor its editors guarantee the accuracy of content or
necessarily support the opinions expressed therein.***
©Copyright 2000, Sage Online, Inc. All
rights reserved.
|
