Should I Do It? Symantec Bar Set Low

Symantec(SYMC Quote), best known for its Norton antivirus software, has seen its shares drop like a stone in 2007.

At Tuesday's closing price of $17.62, the stock is already down a quick 15.5% for the new year, as management hit investors with a disappointing fiscal third quarter (ended December) report Jan. 24.

The company also said Monday that it's buying systems management software producer Altiris(ATRS Quote) for $1.03 billion. While Symantec believes the purchase will be slightly accretive to fiscal 2008 (ending March) earnings, investors aren't soon to forget that the stock is down 19.4% since the company paid $10.2 billion for Veritas Software(VRTS Quote) in 2005.

Symantec is currently on track to see profits decline in fiscal 2007 for the first time in five years, to 96 cents a share. Even so, at 18.4 times full-year earnings, the company trades at a 43% discount to its historical average and a 14% discount to top competitor McAfee(MFE Quote). ...