Investment Opinion
FOOL PLATE SPECIAL

CYRIX <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: CYRX)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: CYRX)") end if %> got munched this morning, down $4 3/4 to $17, after reporting late Friday that it anticipates a loss of more than $15 million in its fiscal second quarter. Rumors are that Cyrix simply cannot get premium pricing for its 6x86 central processing unit and is being forced to sell it for up to 20% less than comparable Pentiums from INTEL CORP. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: INTC)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: INTC)") end if %>. This loss of $15 million is pretty large, considering that in last year's second quarter Cyrix only made $7.49 million.

For its part, Intel Corp. was up $1 5/16 to $72 11/16 today, pushing back toward its 52-week high even as Cyrix punched through 52-week lows. Was it all that long ago that Cyrix was in the low $40s on hopes that it would be acquired because of its 6x86 technology? Whoever turned down that buyout saved themselves a price war -- with Intel slashing prices and Cyrix unable to keep parity, things would have been pretty grim indeed.

Cyrix's woes come only days after another CPU manufacturer, ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AMD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AMD)") end if %>, lost ground after a similar surprise warning. Another CPU concern, OPTI INC. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: OPTI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: OPTI)") end if %>, hangs low as well, having been crushed by the Intel juggernaut. The emergence of brand consciousness in technology-space is one of the most misunderstood phenomena among Wall Street pros -- and one of the reasons Fools have been able to smash the averages. As technology becomes a mass-consumer medium, it is the companies which have branded their products -- like Intel, like Microsoft, like America Online, like US Robotics -- that have the incredible edge that nondurable brand giants like Coca-Cola, American Express and Philip Morris currently enjoy.

UPS

Coverage in this weekend's issue of Barron's caused shares of HYDE ATHLETIC <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: HYDEA)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: HYDEA)") end if %> to surge $1 3/8 to $6 3/8. Unsubstantiated comments of the Prudent Speculator's Al Frank projected $0.50 EPS in 1996.

MICROTEK MEDICAL <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: MTMI)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: MTMI)") end if %>, up $1 7/8 to $14 5/8, put in a good quarter this morning, reporting $0.17 EPS versus $0.09 EPS a year ago. The quarter was so good that ISOLYSER <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: OREX)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: OREX)") end if %> decided to give Microtek holders $16.50 in Isolyser stock in the pending merger.

CAPSTONE PHARMACEUTICAL <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: DOSE)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: DOSE)") end if %> is getting INTEGRATED HEALTH SERVICES'S <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: IHS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: IHS)") end if %> Symphony Pharmacy Services business for $125 million in cash and $25 million in common stock, boasting Capstone shares $1 1/8 to $12 3/8.

One name continues to benefit from the increasing perception that Boris Yeltsin will prevail in Russia's run-off election -- the closed-end fund called TEMPLETON RUSSIA <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TRF)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TRF)") end if %>, up $3 to $27 3/8 this morning.

PRESSTEK <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: PRST)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: PRST)") end if %> shares continued to rebound, up $13 1/2 to $69 1/2, after the Cabot Market Letter told readers to buy this morning. Presstek also corrected some 'misinformation' on Friday, saying no patents are in dispute and that management only sold $17.8 million in stock, not the $153.8 million originally reported.

MANHATTAN BAGELS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BGLS)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BGLS)") end if %> bounced after hitting the cement this morning, rebounding $2 1/8 to $15 7/8 after Friday's disastrous 50% drop on news that its old California management team had cooked the books.

Friday's news that CARAUSTAR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: CSAR)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: CSAR)") end if %> will buy a major stake in Tenneco's recycling operations continues to benefit the shares, up $1 1/2 to $26 1/4 this morning.

NETSCAPE COMMUNICATIONS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: NSCP)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: NSCP)") end if %> got a boost of $3 to $58 when SoundView Financial rated the stock a "short-term buy", stating that concerns about Microsoft taking market share were unfounded.

AMERICAN RADIO SYSTEMS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: AMRD)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: AMRD)") end if %> rose $2 1/2 to $38 1/4 after Merrill Lynch rated the shares a "strong buy". The analyst apparently believes that American Radio might be the next to go in the consolidating radio industry.

US WASTE SERVICES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: UW)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: UW)") end if %> rose $1 1/4 to $29 1/8 after announcing it will merge with SANIFILL <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FIL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FIL)") end if %> with US Waste giving Sanifill shareholders 1.7 shares of US Waste common each.

DOWNS

MICRION <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: MICN)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: MICN)") end if %> was notified by a customer recently that deliveries of its focused-ion beam trimming devices would be "pushed out" over a longer period than previously thought -- causing shares to drop $3 1/2 to $11 3/4.

DIGITAL BIOMETRICS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: DBII)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: DBII)") end if %> expects third quarter revenues to be only $1 million, way below expectations, dropping the stock $1 to $5 1/4 in short order.

NEOZYME <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: NIIUF)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: NIIUF)") end if %> and NABI INC. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: NABI)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: NABI)") end if %> announced that they have halted their Phase II clinical trials of HyperGAM+CF, causing Neozyme to give up $2 1/4 to $48 3/4 and Nabi to fall back $1 3/8 to $9 3/4.

The ever volatile ETEC SYSTEMS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: ETEC)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: ETEC)") end if %> fell back $1 1/2 to $22 this morning, as speculators in the recent initial public offering clashed with those bearish on the prospects for semiconductor equipment in general.

This is not one of the more successful IPOs this year. STORMEDIA <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: STMD)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: STMD)") end if %> fell $2 7/8 to $10 3/4 this morning after reporting that customer Maxtor Corp. is experiencing "significant business problems". Maxtor accounted for 40% of StorMedia's 1Q earnings.

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