IBM Makes Hardware Sector Look Soft
Trouble in
IBM
(IBM) - Get Report
land? This stock is sending all of the wrong signals and it is beginning to singe other areas of tech.
The negative overtones are all survey-oriented. Several analysts seem less than happy about the current tone of business. But it is spilling over to other hardware companies.
Us? We are using the weakness from IBM to buy hardware companies. We think IBM's problems are IBM's only and the industry is quite sound, better actually than it was a month ago. We put on some
Dell
(Dell) - Get Report
and bought some
Sun Microsystems
(SUNW) - Get Report
into the weakness.
We don't want to short IBM. We have lost our shirts doing that other times. But we will avoid it until the risk is better priced in.
James J. Cramer is manager of a hedge fund and co-founder of TheStreet.com. At time of publication, his fund was long Dell and Sun Microsystems. His fund often buys and sells securities that are the subject of his columns, both before and after the columns are published, and the positions that his fund takes may change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Cramer's writings provide insights into the dynamics of money management and are not a solicitation for transactions. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to comment on his column at
jjcletters@thestreet.com.
