CONFERENCE CALLS

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FOOL PLATE SPECIAL

AVANT! <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: AVNT)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: AVNT)") end if %> has come a long way from bankruptcy fears inspired by a patent fight with CADENCE DESIGN <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CDN)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CDN)") end if %>. Back in January the small firm was absolutely smashed when Cadence Design accused it of ripping off some proprietary source code for use in one of its software products. A power outage in California put the company out of commission on the day after this news broke, sending erroneous rumors rippling through the market that Avant! had been closed down by the Justice Department and sending the shares down to the $12 level. Only a few weeks before, after a merger with Integrated Silicon Solutions, Avant! had traded as high as $47 1/2, so the fall was devastating to shareholders.

Today, everything seems to have changed. Even though the lawsuit by Cadence actually appears to have some merit, the Street has calmly reappraised the situation and has steadily bid Avant! up over the past few months. This was all capped off today when the semiconductor electronic design automation concern rose $3 3/8 to $33 1/2 after it announced a meger with META-SOFTWARE <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: MESW)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: MESW)") end if %>. Avant! will give shareholders of Meta-Software 0.43 shares of Avant! for every share of Meta they hold, valuing Meta at around $14 a stub. Avant! stressed the merger would be accretive, meaning that it will earn more as a result of the deal, and that there were cost savings that would arise out of combining the two firms' research and development efforts. Only last week, Avant! snapped up privately-held Anagram Inc., another maker of circuit simulation and analysis software for semiconductors.

UPS

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MANHATTAN BAGELS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BGLS)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: BGLS)") end if %> will be placing bagel bakeries in supermarkets owned by VONS COS. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: VON)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: VON)") end if %> throughout Southern California. Shares of Manhattan Bagel rolled up $1 3/4 to $13.

Was it just last week that investors decided the modem market was falling apart and US ROBOTICS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: USRX)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: USRX)") end if %> was slashing prices on network systems products? The shares are up $1 7/16 to $55 13/16, floating more than $10 above the panic-driven lows set last week.

C-CUBE MICROSYSTEMS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: CUBE)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: CUBE)") end if %> continued to benefit from yesterday's deal between the Americast consortium and ZENITH <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ZE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ZE)") end if %>. C-Cube's Divicom unit will supply Zenith with the chips for the set-top boxes Americast ordered. C-Cube edged up $2 3/4 to $33 1/8.

In spite of a four-cent profit shortfall when it reported earnings yesterday, CIRCUS CIRCUS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CIR)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CIR)") end if %> barreled ahead $2 1/8 to $33 1/2 today after Merrill Lynch upgraded the shares from "accumulate" to "buy."

BAY NETWORKS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BAY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BAY)") end if %> rose $1 1/2 to $26 3/4, on no news other than continued rumors of a takeover.

Programmable logic company ATMEL CORP. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: ATML)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: ATML)") end if %> advanced $1 to $25 7/8 on a downgrade, of all things. Needham & Co. lowered its rating from "strong buy" to "buy."

BusinessWeek's vaunted "Inside Wall Street" column reported that some money managers still think SANO CORP. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: SANO)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: SANO)") end if %> is cheap, despite the massive run-up following the $40 million deal with ELI LILLY <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LLY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LLY)") end if %>. Shares of Sano rose $1 1/4 to $18 1/4.

CHIREX <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: CHRX)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: CHRX)") end if %> popped up $1 1/2 to $11 after receiving a "buy" rating from Legg Mason and being added to its "recommended list."

DOWNS

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SYSTEM SOFTWARE <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: SSAX)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: SSAX)") end if %> got punched for $1 9/16 to $10 3/16 after reporting a third quarter loss of $0.44 EPS on lower revenues. The stock was crushed earlier this month when it forecast this bad news, so apparently it is even worse than expected.

Shares of ZENITH <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ZE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ZE)") end if %> flagged today, down $1 3/4 to $15 1/8, in a bout of profit-taking after yesterday's explosive move. The stock rose after a deal to supply Americast with 3 million set-top boxes was announced.

GENETICS INSTITUTE <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ: GENIZ)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ: GENIZ)") end if %> got slashed to "market performer" by Goldman Sachs today, falling $3 3/4 to $66 1/4 after the genetics database developer neared the firm's target price in the low to mid-$70s today.

Shares of retailer ANNTAYLOR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ANN)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ANN)") end if %> flagged $1 3/8 to $14 1/4 after the company's chief executive officer (CEO) resigned, intent on pursuing "other interests." J.P. Morgan cut the company from "buy" to "market performer."

ANOTHER FOOLISH THING: DRIP Investing

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DRIPs?? They're Dividend Reinvestment Plans, and the fact that more and more companies are offering them is good news for investors. Why? Because DRIPs allow you to buy shares of stock directly from companies, without having to pay a middleman. Why haven't you heard of DRIPs? The middleman might have something to do with it. Brokers, and Wall Street in general, stand to lose with the growing popularity of DRIPs. To learn more about DRIPs in Fooldom, check out the "DRIP Investing" message folder among the "Investing Approaches" folders. It's hosted by Chuck Carlson, who has written several handy guides to DRIPs, available in FoolMart (keyword: FoolMart). AOL 3.0 for Windows users can click here to get to the message boards, and here to go directly to FoolMart.

Randy Befumo (MF Templar), a Fool

Selena Maranjian (MF Selena) another Fool

(c) Copyright 1996, The Motley Fool. All rights reserved. This material is for personal use only. Republication and redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of The Motley Fool.

Transmitted: 8/23/96

Randy Befumo (MF Templar), a Fool

Selena Maranjian (MF Selena) another Fool