TMP Worldwide, American Power Conversion, General Instrument, National Semiconductor

A selection of some of the most intriguing tech stock ideas on the Web. The items presented do not represent the views of TheStreet.com; rather, the collection is offered as a service to our members who may be scanning the Web for stock-related information.

TMP Worldwide
Mark Veverka (2/5)

Don't believe the old saw that no Internet business actually makes money. TMP Worldwide (TMPW) does. You may not know the name, but you probably have heard of TMP's Web site, Monster.com. This huge job-finding site already is a profitable Internet operation, says San Francisco Chronicle stock columnist Mark Veverka.

Monster.com is tailored to job seekers, who keep resumes on file with the site. When an employer posts a job, TMP contacts the job seekers, asking permission to pass on their resumes to the company. TMP (which stands for telephone marketing programs) attracts companies by selling its service to corporate human-resource departments for subscription fees. Job seekers pay nothing. The site says it has 175,000 jobs listed.

TMP's Internet business brought in operating profits of $775,000 in the third quarter on revenue of $13.3 million. Although that may seem small, consider the red ink flowing elsewhere on the Web, says Veverka. Analysts predict revenue will grow to $80 million in 1999. Internet operations make up just a fifth of TMP's revenue. The rest comes from its classified advertising agency, which just got accounts from Lucent (LU) and McKesson HBOC (MCK).

"What's compelling about TMP's stock is that its Web site is not the heart of its business model," says Veverka. Analyst Steven Horen of NationsBanc Montgomery rates TMP a buy with a price target of 70. It was trading recently at 48.

More information can be found at: www.sfgate.com

American Power Conversion
Forbes Digital Tool (2/11)

Despite sales of more than $1 billion, American Power Conversion (APCC) has little following on Wall Street. The company makes uninterruptable power systems and surge suppressors for the computer business, a profitable but not glamorous business. But as the Internet spurs more sales of PCs, servers and the like, APC's sales continue to grow, says Forbes Digital Tool.

Like many others, APC has been hurt by the Asian crisis, but the slowdown there has been more than made up for by the growth of online trading firms, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies, all of which need assurances that systems will keep running in a power outage. The firm has nearly 40% of that market. Sales in 1998 were $1.1 billion, up 29% from the year before. Net income was up 27% to $1.27 per share during the same period.

Advest analyst Michael Whitney estimates APC's 1999 sales at $1.38 billion and its 2000 sales at $1.64 billion. He projects earnings at $1.93 a share in 1999 and $2.27 a share in 2000. At a recent 44, the company was trading at only 23 times 1999 earnings, says Forbes Digital Tool. Shares have since slipped to around 40.

More information can be found at: www.forbes.com

General Instrument
Online Investor (2/10)

A company that makes set-top boxes, cable modems and other broadband network equipment should be set for success. And that seems to be the case for General Instrument (GIC), says Online Investor. The company posted positive earnings last week for the fourth quarter in a row after many quarters of disappointment. Profits also were better than expected.

The real positive for General Instrument, however, is the prospects for cable in delivering high-speed Internet access to homes. In last year's fourth quarter, the company shipped 730,000 digital set-top terminals, a 26% improvement over the previous quarter. Besides supplying boxes that offer premium television programming, high-speed Internet access, telephony and other interactive services, General Instrument also provides end-to-end systems to cable operators so they can offer the services as well.

On the risk side, GI's fate is completely interwoven with how fast cable companies install and roll out digital services. The required investment for cable firms is very high: They first must be sure consumers believe it's worth shelling out $400 for a box that, until now, cost a few bucks a month to rent. Also there's competition from the telephone companies, which are scrambling to roll out the closest they can get to cable speed -- DSL service.

Even though GI's growth rate is expected to slow down this year, relative to last, the potential for greater bandwidth now should be almost impossible to resist. General Instrument is expected to deliver the next generation digital set-top box by midyear. "This bears watching as a gauge of GI's execution and of the cable industry's demand for the latest and greatest technology," says the Online Investor.

More information can be found at: fnews.yahoo.com

National Semiconductor
Rusty Szurek (2/7)

National Semiconductor (NSM) shares faltered last week after a presentation at the NationsBanc Montgomery Securities conference that was less than rosy in its outlook. But Rusty Szurek, who runs the Bullish Portfolio on Raging Bull says he's sticking with the chip maker, though he concedes he may have gotten in too early.

Wireless revenue will be flat or higher than in the second quarter, and the Cyrix division, which targets sub-$1,000 computers, is not doing as well as expected. Third-quarter revenue is likely to be higher than in the second quarter, but lower than in last year's third quarter.

Szurek says he bought National because he believes it has the ability to bring forth a "new computing paradigm" -- a computer on a single chip. "We are investing in the future and leadership of visionary Brian Halla," he says. Despite the setbacks, nothing has changed that original investment thesis, he says.

More information can be found at: www.ragingbull.com

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints