The Daily Workshop Report
by Robert Sheard (TMF Sheard)

LEXINGTON, KY. (Aug. 20, 1997) -- What are you going to say about technology stocks this year except "hubba hubba"? Even after Michael Dell warned the market that there are potential dangers accompanying DELL COMPUTER's <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DELL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DELL)") end if %> phenomenal growth rate, the market ignored him and bid the stock of the computer maker up another 3% after its impressive quarterly earnings report.

We've been following the fifteen largest technology stocks informally over the last several months, a paper-tiger Technology Mutual Fund, if you will. The returns are nothing short of astonishing, the envy of all Wall Street, no doubt (or at least the Wall Street mavens who read the Fool anonymously -- heh, heh). Just think what a hero these returns might have made. Sure, they're just for eight months, but Wall Street's memory is notoriously short. We have fun following the phenomenal success of these stocks, but for your real investments, keep a long-term perspective.

Since the beginning of 1997, the S&P 500 Index is up an impressive 27%, but this fifteen-stock group has soared to a level nearly three times that -- a gain of 75%. The five stocks with the highest Relative Strength rankings in January (Microsoft, Intel, Compaq, Dell, and Seagate Technology) have posted an even more daunting 96% for the year to date.

Here are the fifteen stocks with their individual returns:

229% Dell Computer (DELL)
200% Applied Materials (AMAT)
116% Compaq Computer (CPQ)
107% Sun Microsystems (SUNW)
99% Texas Instruments (TXN)
84% Lucent Technologies (LU)
70% Microsoft (MSFT)
54% Intel (INTC)
43% Int'l Business Machines (IBM)
35% Computer Associates (CA)
29% Hewlett-Packard (HWP)
29% Motorola (MOT)
23% Cisco Systems (CSCO)
9% Seagate Technology (SEG)
-2% Oracle (ORCL)

Fool on!

Monthly Growth Screens
(Jan. 3 to present)
76.29%  Relative Strength  
37.42%  Investing for Growth  
27.65%  YPEG Potential  
25.58%  S&P 500 Index  
23.75%  EPS Plus RS  
17.26%  Low Price/Sales  
16.51%  Unemotional Growth  
11.72%  Formula 90  

Annual Value Screens
(Jan. 1 to present)
24.39%  Dow Jones Ind Avg  
23.29%  Dogs of the Dow  
19.48%  Dow Combo  
19.47%  Beating the S&P  
18.49%  Unemotional Value  
18.49%  Beating the Dow  
10.28%  Foolish Four