FOOL PLATE SPECIAL

SyQuest Revisited

SyQuest <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: SYQT)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: SYQT)") end if %> surged $3 to $14 in heavy trading this morning after the company announced that it had begun shipping a 230-megabyte removable-cartridge hard drive in an attempt to fight back Iomega's <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: IOMG)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: IOMG)") end if %> zippy advance. The EZFlyer will retail for $299 a pop, about 50% higher than the Zip's $199, with the removable cartridges selling for $30, 66% to 100% more than the Zip's $15 to $18 price.

Many had speculated for a while that SyQuest would be forced to move up the storage size of its EZ135. To make the EZ135 disks, SyQuest had been using 270 megabyte hard drive platters that were too marred on one side to be used in hard drives. The relentless move forward in the computer industry's demand for storage space, however, had made these marred 270 megabyte platters much rarer over the past few weeks as users started to buy higher capacity hard drives. Faced with the option of buying perfectly good 270 megabyte hard drive platters to sell as 135 megabyte EZ135 disks or migrating up with the industry, SyQuest has chosen to view this as an opportunity and create a new product around it.

SyQuest has also redesigned the look and feel of the drive to make it more consumer-friendly, taking Iomega's success as an indication of where the real market for removable hard drives resides -- with the consumer. Some question whether the financially troubled company can find the cash to market their product though, and whether their damaged brand can inspire consumer confidence.

With a portion of its accounts payable set to be converted into equity according to its May 8th earnings release and the company still shopping around for a strategic partner, SyQuest could still be headed lower given the pending dilution. Iomega management has consistently painted the picture of a price-sensitive consumer who wants a product at the $200 price-point or below -- SyQuest's move toward more space at higher cost flies in the face of this conviction.

UPS

UNIVAR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: UVX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: UVX)") end if %> exploded up $6 3/4 to $19 1/8 this morning after Dutch-based Koninklijke Pakhoed NV sought to buy the remaining shares it does not own for $19.45 a share.

ZILA <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: ZILA)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: ZILA)") end if %> announced this morning that it would be acquiring the outstanding shares of BIO-DENTAL TECHNOLOGY <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BDTC)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BDTC)") end if %> for 0.75 to 0.825 shares of Zila, causing Bio-Dental to rise $1 3/8 to $5 1/2 in response.

Biotechnology concern BIOCRYST <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BCRX)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BCRX)") end if %> shot up $1 5/8 to $15 5/8 after privately-held Torri Pharmaceutical agreed to pay $22 million in a PNP Inhibitors licensing pact.

Nonline hype in this weekend's issue of Barron's caused shares of BOSTON ACOUSTICS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BOSA)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BOSA)") end if %> to rise $4 1/2 to $24 this morning. Tim Curro, general partner of Value Holdings and member of the financial establishment called it "undervalued".

The Nasdaq's Small Order Entry System (SOES) is what many attribute ENERGY RESEARCH'S <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: ERCC)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: ERCC)") end if %> $2 1/4 to $21 1/4 rise today, to another 52-week high.

OPENVISION TECHNOLOGY <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: OPVN)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: OPVN)") end if %> rose $2 to $19 3/4 after Lehman Brothers initiated coverage of the company with a "strong buy" rating.

DOWNS

Richmond-based ESKIMO PIE <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: EPIE)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: EPIE)") end if %>, sandwiched between rising costs and a weak consumer environment, melted $2 1/4 to $18 3/4 when it reported that it would not meet year-ago earnings of $0.71 EPS for its next quarter.

Investors disappointed in TECHFORCE <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: TFRC)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: TFRC)") end if %> still continue to sell, a month after the recent initial public offering (IPO) came across with disappointing earnings. The stock fell $1 1/2 to $9 1/2.

OPTICAL CABLE <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: OCCF)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: OCCF)") end if %> got whacked for $2 to $42 when Alan Ableson reported in Barron's that the company's indoor-outdoor cable technology is not covered by patents and that Berktek has been making indoor-outdoor fiber-optic cable for about two years.

MAXIM GROUP <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: MAXM)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: MAXM)") end if %> dropped $3/4 to $14 3/4 after they announced they were buying IMAGE INDUSTRIES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: IMAG)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: IMAG)") end if %> in a stock swap valued at $91 million. For its part, Image Industries rose $3/4 to $13 3/4.

As more and more market-makers refuse to make a market in shares of PRESSTEK <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: PRST)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: PRST)") end if %> on top of supposed inquiries about insider sales among top management, the printing technology company slipped $6 1/2 to $156 today.

Randy Befumo (MF Templar), a Fool
Selena Maranjian (MF Selena), another Fool