Renewed Faith

SAN FRANCISCO -- Recent sessions have raised hopes throughout the market that we're back to -- if not the good old days -- at least a summertime romance. Fittingly, I found myself chatting with some of my most bullish sources (yes, I do have them) Wednesday as part of the effort to update the Report Card, which appears below.

"I sincerely believe there's a better than 50-50 chance the Nasdaq will finish the year near its highs" or up about 19% from Wednesday's close, said Arthur Bonnel, manager of the U.S. Global Investors Bonnel Growth fund.

Bonnel's optimism stems from a belief the Federal Reserve has "applied just the right amount of braking." That, plus a retreat in oil prices, sets a favorable macro backdrop for equities, especially growth stocks.

The fund manager "couldn't be more excited," given near-limitless demand for faster communications and prospects for continued "mind-boggling" advances in biotechnology.

Bonnel remains long all the stocks he mentioned in our Jan. 13 conversation (see the Report Card), save Microsoft (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks), QLogic (QLGC Quote - Cramer on QLGC - Stock Picks), Dell (DELL Quote - Cramer on DELL - Stock Picks) and Broadcom (BRCM Quote - Cramer on BRCM - Stock Picks).

Microsoft was sold because of concern over the antitrust trial and QLogic simply because he "wasn't pleased with the way the stock was acting." Dell and Broadcom were shed because of a desire to raise cash during the market's meltdown in March and April.

The fund manager began "nibbling" at stocks again in May and June and the roughly $240 million fund is now fully invested, he said. The fund was up 8% year to date through July 11 vs. 1.6% and 0.7% gains for the S&P and Comp, respectively, including Wednesday's rise.

Bonnel remains most optimistic about JDS Uniphase (JDSU Quote - Cramer on JDSU - Stock Picks), which he bought more of this week on the weakness generated by the buyout of SDL (SDLI Quote - Cramer on SDLI - Stock Picks).

Other current favorites (and longs): Adobe Systems (ADBE Quote - Cramer on ADBE - Stock Picks), Applied Materials (AMAT Quote - Cramer on AMAT - Stock Picks), Dallas Semiconductor (DS Quote - Cramer on DS - Stock Picks), Tollgrade Communication (TLGD Quote - Cramer on TLGD - Stock Picks), TriQuint Semiconductor (TQNT Quote - Cramer on TQNT - Stock Picks) and Sanmina (SANM Quote - Cramer on SANM - Stock Picks) among techs. In health care, he likes Jones Pharmaceutical (JMED Quote - Cramer on JMED - Stock Picks) and King Pharmaceuticals (KG Quote - Cramer on KG - Stock Picks).

FYI, I reconnected with Bonnel to discuss Three-Five Systems (TFS Quote - Cramer on TFS - Stock Picks), which he remains long. The company made some cautious comments about second-half revenue in its conference call Wednesday and its stock was (predictably) tumbling after-hours.

Bonnel expects it will "get pounded" Thursday, but maintains short-term weakness presents a buying opportunity.

"Six months from now you'll make money on that stock from [Thursday's] opening," he declared, noting the company still expects earnings growth in excess of 100% in 2000.

A Small-Cap by Any Other Name

Back on March 8 Juliet Ellis, senior portfolio manager at Chase Global Asset Management, waxed bullish about small-cap stocks, which have outperformed since.

Ellis is equally enthusiastic today, if not more so, noting S&P Small-Cap 600 earnings are expected to grow 33% in 2000 vs. 15% for the S&P 500, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.

Twice the earnings growth is "a compelling argument" for small-caps, especially given their "considerably lower multiples" than big-caps, she said. "It's just really bullish."

Ellis oversees management of about $1.9 billion in small-cap funds, including the Chase Vista Small-Cap Opportunity fund and Chase Vista Small-Cap Equity fund.

The Opportunity fund, a "growth" product, was up 28.4% year to date, and the "core" Equity fund up 17.2% as of July 11, she said. The S&P 600 was up 11.3% following its 1.4% rise Wednesday.

Ellis remains long the four names listed in the Report Card, evincing her faith in a "barbell" strategy featuring "high-growth" -- but admittedly high-risk -- opportunities in biotech, juxtaposed by the "strong earnings" and "reasonable valuations" of hospital management companies/HMOs.

Furthering the strategy, the fund recently added Community Health Systems (CYS Quote - Cramer on CYS - Stock Picks).

Other recent portfolio moves include getting out of semiconductors such as Atmel (ATML Quote - Cramer on ATML - Stock Picks), Lam Research (LRCX Quote - Cramer on LRCX - Stock Picks) and Microchip Technology (MCHP Quote - Cramer on MCHP - Stock Picks) in favor of software names such as Accrue Software (ACRU Quote - Cramer on ACRU - Stock Picks), Allaire (ALLR Quote - Cramer on ALLR - Stock Picks) and Advent Software (ADVS Quote - Cramer on ADVS - Stock Picks).

Ellis isn't bearish on semis (I swear!), they had just become too large a portion of the funds' assets.

Finally, because of a mandate to diversify, she recently added Michaels Stores (MIKE Quote - Cramer on MIKE - Stock Picks) and Stein Mart (SMRT Quote - Cramer on SMRT - Stock Picks).

Both retailers have performed well but Ellis said consumer cyclicals "is not an area I want to be in" and doesn't plan on holding the names for very long.

A Bit Further Ado

Here then is a rundown of how picks by this column's sources quoted in the first quarter fared. Look for the second-quarter results in the coming days. Remember, the performance assumes an investor held the stocks from the time the call was made through Tuesday's close. The reality is that most altered their portfolios during the intervening period but I wasn't able to catch up with all of them to get an update.

I did speak with Marc Klee, co-manager of the near $1 billion John Hancock Technology fund. He is still long all the stocks mentioned below, save Lexmark (LXK Quote - Cramer on LXK - Stock Picks).

Space considerations prevent me from going into more detail about Klee's current picks: Tune in tomorrow!

Finally, last night I reported Richard Eakle, president of Eakle & Associates, had considered shorting Yahoo!, Luckily, he didn't pull the trigger as the stock leapt 18% Wednesday.

Eakle remains skeptical, believing the rise was "more of a market-related function than anything fundamental that's so compelling." The hedge fund manager will reconsider a short position after the enthusiasm "burns itself out," which he foresees by week's end.

Accountability Report Card
Date	Source	Recommendation/forecast	Performance*	TaskMaster Says...
Jan. 11	Dwight Anderson, Tudor Investments	Buy: AK Steel (AKS Quote - Cramer on AKS - Stock Picks); Fort James (FJ Quote - Cramer on FJ - Stock Picks); USX-Marathon (MRO Quote - Cramer on MRO - Stock Picks); Ocean Energy (OEI Quote - Cramer on OEI - Stock Picks); Pactiv (PTV Quote - Cramer on PTV - Stock Picks); RPM (RPM Quote - Cramer on RPM - Stock Picks); Smithfield Foods (SFD Quote - Cramer on SFD - Stock Picks)	AKS: (50.8) FJ: (18.1) MRO (0.7) OEI: 61 PTV: (23.6) RPM: (4.2) SFD: 34.7	Signs of life, but it's still tough being a "value" guy.
Jan. 13	Arthur Bonnel, manager of the U.S. Global Investors Bonnel Growth fund,	Buy: Cisco (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks), Sun Microsystems (SUNW Quote - Cramer on SUNW - Stock Picks), Intel (INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks); Microsoft (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks), Dell (DELL Quote - Cramer on DELL - Stock Picks), JDS Uniphase (JDSU Quote - Cramer on JDSU - Stock Picks), Qlogic (QLGC Quote - Cramer on QLGC - Stock Picks), Xilinx (XLNX Quote - Cramer on XLNX - Stock Picks), Broadcom (BRCM Quote - Cramer on BRCM - Stock Picks), Triquint Semiconductor (TQNT Quote - Cramer on TQNT - Stock Picks), Black Box (BBOX Quote - Cramer on BBOX - Stock Picks), Three Five Systems (TFS Quote - Cramer on TFS - Stock Picks).	CSCO: 17 SUNW: 16.7 INTC: 52.4 MSFT: (26.6) DELL: 17.7 JDSU: 2 QLGC: (7.2) XLNX: 86 BRCM: 59.4 TQNT: 55.3 BBOX: 46.8 TFS: 124	Tech correction? What tech correction?
Jan. 24	Courtney Smith, president and chief investment officer Courtney Smith & Co.	Buy: Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS Quote - Cramer on AEIS - Stock Picks), Electro Scientific Industries (ESIO Quote - Cramer on ESIO - Stock Picks), Helix Technology (HELX Quote - Cramer on HELX - Stock Picks), Novellus Systems (NVLS Quote - Cramer on NVLS - Stock Picks), Orbotech (ORBK Quote - Cramer on ORBK - Stock Picks), PRI Automation (PRIA Quote - Cramer on PRIA - Stock Picks) and Terayon (TERN Quote - Cramer on TERN - Stock Picks)	AEIS: (6.7) ESIO: 12.1 HELX: (29.4) NVLS: 12O ORBK: 14.6 PRIA: (10.9) TERN: 31.7	Growth (still) rules, but you can't just buy 'em blind.
Jan. 31	Mark Klee, manager John Hancock Global Technology fund	Buy: Western Digital (WDC Quote - Cramer on WDC - Stock Picks),Micron (MU Quote - Cramer on MU - Stock Picks), Electronics For Imaging (EFII Quote - Cramer on EFII - Stock Picks), Lexmark (LXK Quote - Cramer on LXK - Stock Picks), Unisys (UIS Quote - Cramer on UIS - Stock Picks), Cypress Semiconductor (CY Quote - Cramer on CY - Stock Picks), Integrated Device Technology (IDTI Quote - Cramer on IDTI - Stock Picks).	WDC: 2.6 MU: 196 EFII: (47.6) LXK: (37) UIS: (57) CY: 30 IDTI: 108	Case in point: Thank heaven for the chips.
Jan. 31	Frank Husic, managing partner at Husic Capital Management	Buy: Viacom (VIA Quote - Cramer on VIA - Stock Picks), Broadcom (BRCM Quote - Cramer on BRCM - Stock Picks) Gemstar (GMST Quote - Cramer on GMST - Stock Picks), SanDisk (SNDK Quote - Cramer on SNDK - Stock Picks), Infospace (INSP Quote - Cramer on INSP - Stock Picks), Geoworks (GWRX Quote - Cramer on GWRX - Stock Picks)	VIA'B: 25.4 BRCM: 56.6 GMST: (10.9) SNDK: (10.4) INSP: (38) GWRX: (52.3)	Tough period, for a lot of reasons.
Feb. 2	Thomas McManus, equity portfolio strategist at Banc of America Securities	Buy: Chase (CMB Quote - Cramer on CMB - Stock Picks), Warner Lambert (WLA Quote - Cramer on WLA - Stock Picks), Procter & Gamble (PG Quote - Cramer on PG - Stock Picks) and Dominion Resources (D Quote - Cramer on D - Stock Picks)	CMB: (7.8) WLA: 35.9 PG: (44) D: 11.6	Mixed bag: So much for safety in the "Old Economy."
Feb. 8	Stanley Nabi, chief investment officer at DLJ Investment Management	Buy: Chevron (CHV Quote - Cramer on CHV - Stock Picks), Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote - Cramer on XOM - Stock Picks), Halliburton (HAL Quote - Cramer on HAL - Stock Picks) and General Mills (GIS Quote - Cramer on GIS - Stock Picks).	CHV: 11.1 XOM: 2.1 HAL: 26.1 GIS: 19.5	Stan! Stan! He's the man!
Feb. 9	Donald Coxe, chairman and chief strategist at Harris Investment Management	Buy: Stillwater Mining (SWC Quote - Cramer on SWC - Stock Picks)	SWC: (30.3)	Um, gee, I wonder what else he bought.
Feb. 14	Satya Pradhuman, director of small-cap research at Merrill Lynch	Buy: Asyst Technologies (ASYT Quote - Cramer on ASYT - Stock Picks), L3 Communications (LLL Quote - Cramer on LLL - Stock Picks) and Commscope (CTV Quote - Cramer on CTV - Stock Picks).	ASYT: (21.9) LLL: 27.7 CTV: 24.3	Not a bad Valentine's Day gift.
March 7	Richard Eakle, president of Eakle Associates	Buy: Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI Quote - Cramer on SIRI - Stock Picks), Cerus (CERS Quote - Cramer on CERS - Stock Picks).Short: Razorfish (RAZF Quote - Cramer on RAZF - Stock Picks), Ask Jeeves (ASKJ Quote - Cramer on ASKJ - Stock Picks), Intuit (INTU Quote - Cramer on INTU - Stock Picks).	SIRI: (25.5) CERS: (23) RAZF: (53.6) ASKJ: (84) INTU: (15.4)	Thank heaven for the shorts.
March 8	Juliet Ellis, senior portfolio manager at Chase Global Asset Management	Buy: Celgene (CELG Quote - Cramer on CELG - Stock Picks), Inhale Therapeutics (INHL Quote - Cramer on INHL - Stock Picks), Province Healthcare (PRHC Quote - Cramer on PRHC - Stock Picks), Oxford Health Plans (OXHP Quote - Cramer on OXHP - Stock Picks)	CELG: (6.1) INHL: (15.4) PRHC: 89.4 OXHP: 82.5	A mixed bag, but pretty healthy altogether.
March 16	John Bollinger, president of Equity Trader.com	Buy: Modem Media Poppe Tyson (MMPT Quote - Cramer on MMPT - Stock Picks), Cintas (CTAS Quote - Cramer on CTAS - Stock Picks) and Albertson's (ABS Quote - Cramer on ABS - Stock Picks).	MMPT: (69.4) CTAS: 24.8 ABS: 16.6	One big clunker doth not a portfolio help.
March 27	Clarke Adams and Mark Lapolla, partners at Petroscapital	Buy: Andrx (ADRX Quote - Cramer on ADRX - Stock Picks)	ADRX: 35.6	They liked it then. They liked it now. It is working.
March 30	Charles Payne, president and chief analyst at Wall Street Strategies	"It is time to adjust our expectations. Realize the blistering runs will be fewer and farther between. Learning to protect your profits is the key."	DJIA: (2.3) SPX: (0.5) COMP: (11.2)	You have adjusted expectations, right?
* Percentage change through close of trading 7/11, except WLA, acquired by Pfizer (PFE Quote - Cramer on PFE - Stock Picks) on June 19. Source: ILX