On the Level: Is This a Stock 'Primed' for an Uptick?

One of the longest running shows on Wall Street has come to town this week -- the UBS Warburg media conference, previously known as the PaineWebber show.

Given the uncertainty surrounding all-media stocks -- new or old -- I decided Monday to take the No. 4 train to the Grand Hyatt Hotel to hear what beleaguered managements had to say for themselves.

Because of the advertising slowdown and the dot-com debacle, most media stocks -- ad agencies, newspapers, magazines, dot-coms, radio and television, cable and programming companies -- are flat to way down this year. On the theory that in this market "beaten up" is better than "priced for perfection," I stopped by.

Few, if any, media stocks are as depressed as one of Monday's presenters, Primedia(PRM Quote). The stock peaked back in late March at $34.88 a share before cratering to a record low $7.63 last week. The company's presentation at the conference has given the stock only a slight boost to the $8- to $9-per-share range. ...