Holding. They are still the favorite amongst corporations. Their latest offerings are getting amazing reviews even when compared to Apple. They've had some rough times, but they appear to be adapting by moving into the retail space globally. Latest targets have them hitting mid 30s which is a fair expectation. Right now the masses seem to be acting emotionally. Just remember, it is all a guessing game...
Selling. Weak dollar hurts their sales since everything sold overseas is made overseas. Component costs will not fall as fast as anticipated, management still does not have a compelling story for customers, and vista is a huge bust.
Well, I bought today. I hope to report back to this thread in a few weeks when the stock goes back to normal after people realized they over-reacted to the news.
Any thoughts here on Countrywide (CFC)? They are around $11 today after a 52 week high of around $45. They took a big writedown recently like many other lenders suffering from the subprime mortgage problems, but I hear some speculation that they are well-positioned to pull out of this. They have been a big player for some time so I wonder if their experience and strong management might warrant a little buying right now.
From a former Dell employee who still watches the company, they seem a bit too rudderless for me at the moment. They don't have a clear idea of how to compete, they don't have any compelling innovations, and their amazing product line is for the most part built by one of the same ODM's that builds all the other brands but Apple as well. Until they can discover a new identity now that they've completed the race to the bottom in the component market and everyone has figured out how to copy their build to order model, they aren't going to do much in my opinion.
What is funny about this question, is the answer is buying and selling. If people were only buying or selling then there would be no liquidity in the market. To sell you need a buyer and to buy you need a seller.
I am doing neither. But what I can't understand about Dell is why they self destructed. They were a big success (years ago) because they had a great reputation for customer service. But they just pissed it away by outsourcing to India or whereever. I am sure that helped make a bunch of profit goals for a few quarters. But that reputation, a valuable asset, just went down the drain and no way to recover it. The only answer is short sidedness. You would think Dell would have been a company that took the long view.
