Boring Portfolio Report
Wednesday, September 10, 1997
by Greg Markus (TMF Boring)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Sept.10, 1997) -- Stocks fell pretty much across the board today, with the Dow lower by 133 points (1.69%), the S&P 500 off 1.56%, and the Nasdaq down 1.02%. Even the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks succumbed after setting nine consecutive new highs.

The Boring Portfolio took a hit, too -- although its 0.60% trimming was less severe than those of the benchmark indices.

Shares of CISCO SYSTEMS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") end if %> tumbled $3 7/16 in heavy trading along with other networking stocks. The sell-off may have precipitated when an analyst at Morgan Stanley trimmed his quarterly earnings estimate on ASCEND COMMUNICATIONS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ASND)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ASND)") end if %>.

The only Cisco-specific item I spotted on the wires was a press release announcing that Cisco and GlobalCenter, Inc. are partnering to provide small businesses with all the stuff they need to get instantly wired up and establish a Web presence. The Super Meal package includes a Cisco 1601 router and Cisco hub along with all the necessary software and Internet access. The Happy Meal package substitutes a Cisco Micro Webserver, which is basically a dressed-up IOMEGA <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: IOM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: IOM)") end if %> Zip drive. Really. Very cool.

Cisco CFO Larry Carter spoke today at the Salomon Brothers technology conference in New York. Cisco execs are notoriously careful about not spilling any news behind closed doors, so I doubt that any bombshells were dropped. I’ve got a note in to Cisco requesting an update, in any event.

Whatever I find out, you’ll find out. Or “We’re in touch, so you be in touch,” or “We live by the lake. Please drop in.” Or whatever. For that matter, anyone in the world can request an update from Cisco: click over to http://www.cisco.com, click on “Investor Relations,” and -- Shazam! -- there you are.

By the way, Cisco’s board meets next on Sept. 24. The quarterly earnings report is slated for Nov. 4, and the annual shareholders’ meeting is on Nov. 13. So those of us who own a piece of the Kid should be seeing a proxy statement in our mailboxes pretty soon now.

Doing its darnedest to offset losses in Cisco and ORACLE <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ORCL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ORCL)") end if %> today, little PRIME MEDICAL <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PMSI)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PMSI)") end if %> continued to motor along. PMSI tacked on $5/8 to close at a bid of $14 5/8. Trading volume was an enormous 446,300 shares. Don’t look now, but Prime is just under a 52-week high -- although its still got a way to go to revisit the thin air above $20 where it perched for those few fleeting moments in the late spring on ‘96.

With analysts’ expecting Prime to make something like $0.85 per share next year, the stock is even now trading at barely 17-times projected 1998 earnings. With the stone-buster business bringing in a steady stream of cash with which to build out the prostate thermotherapy biz and the urology office management biz, PMSI still looks like a good investment to me.

Finally, BORDERS GROUP <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BGP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BGP)") end if %> picked up $1/4. I see that my neighbors in The Motley Fool “Hall of Portfolios” just picked up a stake in virtual bookstore AMAZON.COM <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMZN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMZN)") end if %>. As a lifelong lover of books, I have no doubt that there’s enough book-selling business out there for both Borders and Amazon to do well as businesses. As for the relative valuations of the stocks... well let’s just say that reasonable folks can disagree on that.

Which is exactly what I intend to do on Friday. While I crunch the numbers, such as they are, and compose my thoughts (such as they are), Doc Weaver will provide our Thursday Borefolio recap.

Drip Portfolio -- Coke and Pfizer
The Fool Portfolio -- Fool Port getting closer.
Fool Message Boards -- Speak your mind!
Evening News -- All the news, early.
Daily Double -- Doubled. Why? Learn.
Daily Trouble -- Slammed. A value?
Fool Four -- 23% annualized historically

Stock  Change    Bid
ATLS  -  3/16  27.06
BGP   +  1/4   26.44
CSL   -  1/4   43.44
CSCO  -3 7/16  72.50
GNT   -  1/2   46.13
ORCL  -1 7/8   37.94
OXHP  +  1/8   76.13
PMSI  +  5/8   14.63
TDW   ---      56.13

                   Day   Month    Year  History
        BORING:  -0.60%   3.55%  25.92%  44.91%
        S&P:     -1.56%   2.17%  24.07%  47.84%
        NASDAQ:  -1.02%   3.27%  26.97%  57.47%

    Rec'd   #  Security     In At       Now    Change
  2/28/96  400 Borders Gr    11.26     26.44   134.87%
  8/13/96  200 Carlisle C    26.32     43.44    65.01%
  5/24/96  100 Oxford Hea    48.02     76.13    58.51%
   2/2/96  200 Green Tree    30.39     46.13    51.79%
   3/8/96  400 Prime Medi    10.07     14.63    45.25%
  6/26/96  100 Cisco Syst    53.90     72.50    34.51%
 12/23/96  100 Tidewater     46.52     56.13    20.63%
   3/5/97  150 Atlas Air     23.06     27.06    17.37%
 11/21/96  150 Oracle Cor    32.43     37.94    16.97%

    Rec'd   #  Security     In At     Value    Change
  2/28/96  400 Borders Gr  4502.49  10575.00  $6072.51
  8/13/96  200 Carlisle C  5264.99   8687.50  $3422.51
   2/2/96  200 Green Tree  6077.49   9225.00  $3147.51
  5/24/96  100 Oxford Hea  4802.49   7612.50  $2810.01
  6/26/96  100 Cisco Syst  5389.99   7250.00  $1860.01
   3/8/96  400 Prime Medi  4027.49   5850.00  $1822.51
 12/23/96  100 Tidewater   4652.49   5612.50   $960.01
 11/21/96  150 Oracle Cor  4864.99   5690.63   $825.64
   3/5/97  150 Atlas Air   3458.74   4059.38   $600.64

                             CASH   $7890.00
                            TOTAL  $72452.50