Remedy, Advanced Micro Devices, Advent Software, SanDisk

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.

Remedy
Stephen Quickel (2/22)

Championed as a growth stock until hard times closed in, help-desk management software maker Remedy (RMDY) is making a comeback, says growth stock investor Stephen Quickel of the US Investment Report.

Remedy's sales grew to $157 million in 1998 from just $20 million in 1994, with earnings per share climbing to 69 cents a share from 14 cents during the same period. Still, the stock peaked in April 1998 at 23, but fell to 10 last autumn. It's back up to around 21, which implies a forward price-earnings ratio of 17, much lower than the company's projected 30% five-year growth rate, says Quickel.

A month ago, only two of nine analysts covering Remedy rated the stock a buy or a strong buy. Now three rate it a strong buy and three rank it a buy. Quickel rates the company a buy himself, though he cautions investors to wait before purchasing because of current market volatility.

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

Advanced Micro Devices
Upside.com (2/23)

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose 9.6% to 19 5/16 Monday after the company released its new K6-III chip. But it's still too soon to be talking about an AMD revival, says Upside.com.

The stock gave back some of those gains during the week. Shares still are nowhere near the recent high of 33 posted on Jan. 12, just before warnings of an earnings shortfall for the current quarter sent the stock off a cliff. Extreme pricing pressures caused by AMD rival Intel (INTC) show no signs of abating. The K6-III chip, priced at the same levels as Intel's Pentium II chip, is little more than a "defensive barrier," Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette analyst Charles Boucher tells Upside.com.

AMD's savior could be its K7 chip, which features a new architecture and has outperformed Intel's Pentium III chip at 600MHz speeds. Maybe that product will get the company out of its no-win price war with Intel as each company introduces new chips, says Upside.com. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst Mark Edelstone maintains a neutral rating on the stock, echoing the wait-and-see attitude of Wall Street.

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

Advent Software
Patrick Dalton (2/19)

Advent Software (ADVS) is a leading provider of software and services to the investment community. The company's software solutions address portfolio management, trading, data warehousing and more. Portfolio manager Patrick Dalton of J.W. Burns & Co. says the company has a dominant market position, a big backlog of orders and a growing list of new clients that now includes Merrill Lynch (MER).

The company's stock dipped from the mid-30s to the low-20s in last fall's market turmoil as investors worried about a slowdown in spending by Wall Street firms. But Dalton points out that about one-third of the company's revenues are recurring, which should cushion the blow of a prolonged pullback in the stock market. In any case, the stock came back strong in the fourth quarter. It's now trading around 47 1/ 2, up from a fall 1998 low of around 20.

Dalton foresees annual earnings growth of 35% over the next several years and a stock price in the mid-60s by the end of this year.

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

SanDisk
Online Investor (2/23)

The rising popularity of digital cameras is behind the remarkable comeback of SanDisk (SNDK), maker of flash memory chips for digital cameras and other consumer electronic devices, says Online Investor. The stock, which dipped to a low of 5 1/8 last fall, was trading above 28 this week.

Digital camera sales are expected to hit 30 million in 2002, up from fewer than 3 million units in 1997, says Online Investor. In addition, hand-held PCs also are taking off, and Hewlett-Packard's (HWP) line of Jornada hand-helds include a slot just for SanDisk's CompactFlash memory cards.

CompactFlash memory cards have a share of between 60% and 70% in the digital camera market. The ability to store data when the power is off makes the cards ideal for use in portable CD players, cellular phones and other devices. Though the future looks bright, the stock's strong comeback means the company will have to deliver equally strong earnings to sustain the price, says Online Investor.

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

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