STOCKCHASE

(A Top Pick Jan 25/11. Up 16.29%.) The 1st of the big cap tech stocks to break out. They earned about $1 in 2002 but will earn $13.50 or so this year. Has a very strong recurring revenue base. A very strong services business. Just sold his holdings today.

2012-01-05

HOLD

185.730

Charles Lannon

Really strong company. There is a long laundry list of very high quality tech companies with very sound balance sheets that are selling at deep, deep discounts. Organic growth rate is probably only 3%-4% but continues to return a lot of cash to shareholders.

2011-11-17

WEAK BUY

174.510

Mark Grammer

A growth company, but not in his fund as it is a slower growth. Well-managed and a very strong balance sheet. Prefers VMware (VMW-N).

2011-09-26

BUY

169.920

Paul Harris, CFA

Cheap. Trades at a huge discount to its PE. Trading at about 12X versus 17X earnings in the past. Nice dividend yield. Continues top throw off lots of free cash. They concentrate on areas where they have a competitive advantage. A safer way to play technology.

2011-05-13

Comment

170.370

A lot of the advancements they are making are coming on the cost cutting side. Doing a very good job, but this can only go on so long. There is a ton of choice in technology.

2011-04-27

WEAK BUY

163.600

Andrew McCreath

Software is going to outperform hardware with respect to profits. IBM is bias to software so will be an out-performer in the tech world. Would not buy here because the multiple has expanded here. Would maintain position but not add to it. Will have challenges to input costs in second half of year in terms of labour only.

2011-03-30

TOP PICK

161.440

An add to his existing position. A simple one-stop shop for exposure to cloud computing. Not an expensive stock. Stock has been going sideways for 12 years.

2011-01-25

BUY

155.800

Very attractive right now. Just reported strong earnings on the service sector. Real recovery. Good international exposure.

2011-01-20

PAST TOP PICK

155.690

(Top Pick Feb 16/10, 26.04%) It approached a point where he was starting to exit the position, then earnings came out yesterday and they are firing on all cylinders.

2011-01-19

BUY

129.430

Has done really well over the last 10 years transitioning into less commoditized areas. Earnings have been growing through the cycle and are shareholder friendly.

2010-09-15

BUY

130.350

Benefited from the correction taking the stock price down. Fundamentally doing quite well. Company predicted strong growth over the medium and long term, 3-5 years. Good value at about 10X earnings.

2010-06-16

PAST TOP PICK

129.790

(A Top Pick May 13/09. Up 28.38%.) Very solid company and good dividend growth.

2010-06-15

BUY

125.420

Jim Huang

Have transformed themselves from primarily a hardware company in computers and service to a service company. Not expensive. Growing slowly and steadily. Pays a good dividend.

2010-05-21

WEAK BUY

125.620

This is now more of a services company, which leads to a more predictable income stream. Not the most exciting of technology companies but if you want stability and 8% to 10% of earnings growth is a pretty good stock.

2010-03-10

TOP PICK

125.230

Selling March put options at $121.15 strike price. Likes the name over the years and is great value at $121. At least $11 earnings this year and constantly conservative in their estimates. Very solid income stream. Not Cyclical.

2010-02-16

HOLD

121.880

(Market Call Minute.) Had a great quarter. Largely a software and solutions company now. Stable.

2010-02-08

PAST TOP PICK

128.490

(Top Pick May 15/09, Up 26%) Continues to buy back shares, continues to be attractive. Looking for pullback to put it back into the portfolio. Very solid and stable earnings stream. Some growth opportunities, but it’s the stability that they like.

2009-12-15

WEAK BUY

120.870

Don Lato

Great company. Ludicrously cheap, but it only has 10 or 12% growth ahead of it. Agrees with their tendency toward software and services.

2009-10-21

BUY

121.350

John Zechner

Likes it. Done well in the service industry. People don’t look at this company. Great growth story, international. IBM is cheaper than others like HP and Dell.

2009-10-06

BUY

120.820

Tech sector is one of the spaces that could benefit from an improving economy as people and corporations spend more money. A lot of the systems are getting long in the tooth. Would tend to more of the corporate end because the price pressure on the consumer is relentless and never ending.

2009-09-23

BUY

116.760

Likes it. Have been very successful in morphing from a hardware company to a software and services company. High predictability of earnings, good dividends, strong balance sheet.

2009-09-09

PAST TOP PICK

117.380

(A Top Pick Aug 5/08. Down 6.63%.)

2009-08-06

TOP PICK

117.260

(A Top Pick Feb 9/09. Up 20.9%.) Beat earnings estimates handily by $.30. Revenue side was a little light but not unexpected. Earnings guidance was raised. Still a Buy.

2009-07-29

HOLD

117.040

Christine Poole

Just reported a great quarter. Technology group has done well. Generates a lot of free cash flow and have been buying back stock. On the service side they have been slowly moving into higher margin businesses. Not expensive at 10X earnings.

2009-07-21

PAST TOP PICK

101.730

(A Top Pick May 15/09. Up 0.36%.) Likes it because of its defensive characteristics. Trading at an attractive multiple. Expecting some high teens earnings-per-share growth. Trading at about 11X earnings. He is writing Calls on his position so he is hoping the stock trades sideways.

2009-07-03

TOP PICK

105.020

Trades at less than 10X earnings. Good international exposure. Emerging markets division grew at 11% last quarter. 2.2% dividend yield with a record of increasing dividends.

2009-05-26

TOP PICK

101.370

Huge beneficiary of global infrastructure build out as well as cost cutting. Doing $9.20 in earnings this year and expected to do $10 to $11. Generating free cash flow and buying back shares. Trades at about 11x earnings.

2009-05-15

TOP PICK

102.260

(A Top Pick Feb 9/09. Up 6%.) Company has reiterated their earnings expectations for 2010. It is really the services side that pushes the company. Growth numbers from the services side have been significantly better than expected.

2009-05-13

BUY

101.190

Don Lato

Has managed their business very well through this downturn. Pretty cheap at 10X earnings.

2009-04-08

TOP PICK

96.890

One of the pre-eminent names in this space. Broadly based in terms of its exposure across the marketplace. 4th quarter earnings surprised the street dramatically, especially from the services side.

2009-03-31

Comment

94.150

Richard Croft

If you own, you could Sell a $95 Call option, probably in May. Expect you will get something around $3-$4. Treat it as cash flow coming in but don't do it if you think it's going back to the $116-$130 area. If you are bearish on the stock, you are better off selling it and going onto something else.

2009-03-27

BUY

89.490

This is the technology stock that she likes the best at the moment. Viewed as a hardware company but 40% of its business is from the software side where the margins are much higher. 2/3rds of earnings are from outside of North America. Great balance sheet.

2009-03-04

BUY

88.930

Likes the services side a lot as they aren't challenged financially given the current environment. Have long-term contracts which means that cash keeps coming in every month. (He owns cognizant technologies. (CTSH-Q)).

2009-02-19

TOP PICK

96.820

Great ability to execute on a business plan. Dramatically changed their business model to more of a services company than hardware. Bookings in 4th quarter were much better than expected. Cash flow is well in excess of the dividend.

2009-02-09

DON'T BUY

90.070

Jim Huang

One of the best technology companies you can own in today's environment. Came out with very good numbers and a very good outlook for 2009. However really beat the numbers partly because of currency translation. In fact, revenue is down. Recession will hit them as well. Now may not be the right time to buy. Would like it about 10% lower.

2009-01-22

BUY

81.250

Mark Grammer

Have done a very good job of managing their way through this whole business cycle. Very strong management. Global outlook. Exposed to all major sectors. Balance sheet is in very good shape. High margins.

2008-12-29

DON'T BUY

82.860

Ron Ianieri

Jan 9/09 $60 Puts? Bearish on the market so he is bearish on this stock. Doesn't believe in buying “out of the money” (no innate value.) options. With the stock trading at $90, the $60 Put gives you the right to sell at $60. This has no intrinsic value. The stock would have to move $30 by Jan 9/09 for the option to have value.

2008-12-10

Comment

77.480

Ross Healy

His FMV is calculated at about $250 so current price is cheap. 20% plus profit. $10 billion cash on hand and additional 10 billion cash line of credit. Has shifted into the service sector of computers, which tends to be much more stable. 4 X book value is fairly cheap.

2008-11-17

BUY

80.330

Charles Bobrinskoy

A couple of headwinds including foreign currency and pensions but their outsourcing, consulting and software businesses are very strong. The hardware business would be the most challenged. Great high quality company. Strong balance sheet.

2008-11-14

BUY

84.210

David Driscoll

Nobody knows where the bottom is for tech stocks. Usually recessions last for 2 or 3 years. Quarterly results are usually bad for 4 or 5 quarters. Okay for long-term growth and anywhere here would be a decent purchase.

2008-11-13

BUY

88.290

It held up until the last few days

2008-10-15

BUY

117.290

Matthew McCall

Big technology stock that he actually likes. Last quarter's earnings were very strong. The growth for them has been overseas. On a 2 to 5 year time frame, it's a great buy. He is looking at this as a potential purchase.

2008-09-08

HOLD

114.330

Norman Levine

A relative star in the technology area. Seems to be firing on all cylinders. However, with the market correction and valuations coming down, it is also coming down. Thinks it will do better than the market.

2008-09-05

BUY

123.380

Charles Bobrinskoy

Was very much out of favour 3 years ago when he bought it. Very pleased with how well it has done. Globally, companies are trying to take costs out of their businesses. Trading at about 13X forward earnings. Has been helped by the weaker US$.

2008-08-27

TOP PICK

128.870

Combination of a software play and services. Only about 30% of revenues come from the US. Growing at about 15%, which is significant. 50% of revenues are recurring. Behaved like a champ in the current market which indicates it will do even better in a stronger market. Positive earnings revisions.

2008-08-05

BUY

124.200

Very well positioned internationally. Q1 earnings were spectacular. A very steady performer in a difficult environment. Well positioned in the longer term to benefit from the overseas growth and will see better growth in N.A. in 5 years.

2008-05-23

Comment

127.520

Has been very successful by sticking to its knitting and concentrating on the services business. Very profitable.

2008-05-14

BUY

123.610

Peter Brieger

65% of revenues come from foreign sources. Even with the slowdown in the US, they produced a 6% growth rate in the first quarter, 16%+ from offshore. Relatively cheap.

2008-05-01

BUY

122.850

Robert Floyd

(Market Call Minute.) Interesting prospects going forward. Nice international revenues.

2008-04-29

TOP PICK

124.400

Over 50% of revenues come from international growth. Half of the revenue is services. Recent reporting beat estimates handily.

2008-04-18

BUY

102.220

Multi national exporter, big exposure to non U.S dollar currencies.

2007-11-19

HOLD

119.600

Solid mature company will continue to do well. It is a decent company to have for a core holding. Predicts high single or low double digit return.

2007-10-16

TOP PICK

118.030

There's been gross underinvestment in business. IBM is really well positioned. Get's 60% of it's revenues outside the US. Great play on the US dollar. Tech sector is going to resurge here.

2007-10-15

BUY

110.650

John O'Connell, CFA

Long-term outlook is constructive. Continues to benefit from growth in servicing/consulting businesses. The risk is more and more off shoring being done in India and, in time, China.

2007-07-31

HOLD

105.570

Ian Nakamoto

Likes this company. A relatively safe, technologies play. The services side of the business is very strong globally. Probably the leader in its space. Thinks there is a fair bit of upside.

2007-05-14

DON'T BUY

95.210

Big run through the 4th quarter last year because of expectations of a big cap X boom, which did not arrive. Very decent, large, blue chip stock. In an economic slowdown, these are the companies that get cut.

2007-04-23

DON'T BUY

95.670

Paul Harris, CFA

Trades at a low multiple of about 15 X earnings. Low yield. Places like India are eating away at their core franchise, the servicing business. Expect it will stay at this multiple for longer than people think.

2007-04-12

DON'T BUY

96.620

Primarily services now rather than mainframes. This gives them repeating revenue. Economically sensitive. If there is a downtick in the US economy, they would have difficulty maintaining their profits. It could be dead money for a year or two.

2007-04-09

Comment

95.190

Probably around fair value now which gives a return of 8%-9%. You can buy at around $90. It won't give you double-digit returns but it will be solid.

2007-03-22

DON'T BUY

93.940

Ross Healy

Not enormously enamoured by the outlook for tech stocks. Feels there is more downside risk in this sector.

2007-03-07

WATCH

97.400

John Manley

Great company and has done very well recently. Concerned about the big divergence from the original peak that the MACD shows. Looks like the up trend line has been broken. From an options standpoint, if you like the company and its fundamentals, he would sell puts. Could be a little dangerous on the Long side.

2007-01-24

HOLD

96.000

Paul Gardner, CFA

Been dead for 5 years. Had problems on their hardware side and their service side wasn’t making enough money as well as problems with mass over runs. Now focused on the mainframe side and upgrading the service side. Thinks the stock has a little more legs to it.

2006-12-19

HOLD

95.360

Ian Ainsworth

Cheap at 14-15 X earnings. Not a fast growing company. More than 50% of its business is in services, outsourcing the IT operations. That grows 5%, maybe 6% a year, but they have been growing at 3%-4%. Would be good to hold if there is a correction.

2006-12-14

HOLD

94.230

Finally getting things fixed on the service side, which is their major driver. Needs capital expenditures by big corporations and they are nor spending.

2006-12-07

BUY

93.510

John Manley

Had a bounce pretty close to its previous highs. There are rumours of a possible takeover. Have shifted their focus from hardware to software and seem to be firing on al cylinders. Technically they look very strong.

2006-12-04

DON'T BUY

93.810

Charles Lannon

Had a pretty good earnings per share in this most recent quarter. The data that stuck out like a sore thumb was their global services, their consulting division, which comprises about 50%, only grew by 3%. Makes you wonder where the organic growth is going to come from.

2006-11-17

BUY

92.420

David Driscoll

Have done very well in selling hardware as companies have had to upgrade data base equipment and take on memory storage. Have been a little sluggish on the service side, but the hardware has been propelling them.

2006-11-09

BUY

91.500

Just reported a solid quarter. There is probably a little bit of upside. If it gets close to $100, you want to start to peel back. A little below fair value.

2006-10-30

SELL

81.650

Neil Wickham

A very strong company but is mature so high percentage growth is unlikely. Will continue to languish.

2006-10-03

WATCH

79.880

John O'Connell, CFA

Technology stocks in general have been poor performers. In the low $70’s has always been a good time to pick away at this name and sell it in the high $80’s area. If there is a rally in the NASDAQ, this would be a good solid name to add to your proposal.

2006-08-25

BUY

75.480

Disappointing stock price performance over the last year. Reported earnings that were well above expectations. Cheap.

2006-07-20

BUY

79.760

A quality company. Recession resistant because most of its revenue is service oriented. Not the growth story it was in the past, but also not as cyclical.

2006-06-06

PAST TOP PICK

83.810

(A Top Pick Dec 22/05. No change.) Corporations are flush with cash but they are doing mergers, acquisitions and share buybacks and have not started on the new product cycle yet. When they do, IBM will be a major beneficiary.

2006-04-06

PAST TOP PICK

83.380

IBM is up a little since being a top pick. She still owns it and is still buying. IBM has very diversified product lines. It is a value company.

2006-03-15

DON'T BUY

81.090

Brian Acker, CA

Always overvalued.

2006-02-14

BUY

80.400

Howard Sutton

This would be a long-term holding. They have a variety of industries. Won’t be a rocket ship, but it's a steady performer.

2006-02-09

TOP PICK

83.220

Well-positioned when companies start to use the cash they have on their balance sheets. It has a number of new products coming in in 2006. This should drive earnings and valuation of the stock. Trades only at 15 X next year's earnings.

2005-12-22

DON'T BUY

85.530

Mark Jackson, CFA

Struggling for growth in the technology space in the US. Very difficult for it to maintain the margins that it had, Would prefer Cisco (CSCO-Q)which is trading at a fairly attractive valuation.

2005-11-15

BUY

84.360

Brad Willock

Likes this company. Has been thinking of buying, but he has a lot of technology in his portfolio. Expects it will have a good strong 4th quarter. Not eapensive.

2005-11-14

BUY

84.550

The services business which they are focused on is a very good business. The share price has been improving. You won't get hurt with this one. He prefers Hewlett-Packard (HPQ-N) which will be reporting earnings a month from now and should have an uptick in all of their business lines.

2005-11-11

PAST TOP PICK

84.170

(Top PIck July 19/05. No change.) Still likes it. Had a very good quarter. Good diversified product line.

2005-10-19

DON'T BUY

80.360

John Zechner

Has been a big ship to turn around, but they have done a good job making it a leaner company. Economically sensitive. Will grow with the economy. In technology, you can find things that have a little more zip to them.

2005-09-29

HOLD

82.600

A great tech story over the long term. A solid franchise and you are safe holding it. They continue to evolve and want to go in and run the businesses that are their customers. Continue to be a leader in semi-conductor manufacturing. Likes it below $80.

2005-08-22

TOP PICK

84.200

Not expensive trading at 15.5 X next year's earnings. New main frames are to be announced soon which will give the stock a bit of a push. Global corporations are very well funded and when tech spending really starts to resume, This one is clearly positioned to benefit. A low risk way of playing a major recovery in tech spending.

2005-07-25

TOP PICK

83.700

Well positioned for when corporations start to spend the cash they have in their balance sheets.

2005-07-19

BUY on WEAKNESS

81.810

John Sinkins, CFA

Was a good pick up a few weeks ago in the low $70's, but still thinks there's some upside even at this price. Gross margins on their hardware improved somewhat. Services and sales divisions are doing well also. Would wait for a bit of a pullback.

2005-07-18

BUY

74.730

Starting to like this stock at this price. Have announced a bit of a restructuring and he is trying to understand that. Below $80 is a good price.

2005-06-29

DON'T BUY

74.930

Brian Acker, CA

Has always been expensive to him. When you break this company down, they are just a consultant. Gives credit to their financial engineering. His model price is $58.86 which is a negative differential of 21%.

2005-06-09

DON'T BUY

77.100

Neil Wickham

In the process of selling their PC business to the Chinese group Lenova (?). Earnings should go up. Biggest component of cash flow in the past has been their services on main frames. This is starting to suffer. Last quarter was weak. Very strong financially. Doesn't see a lot of dynamic growth potential.

2005-05-30

BUY

77.140

Rob Callander

A low risk way of playing the technology IT kind of turn around that's sort of kind of happening.

2005-05-26

DON'T BUY

73.300

If you are a momentum believer, it's a pretty scary chart. A lot of its revenue comes from service rather than selling hardware. Not unattractive, but negative sentiment is very high. Wouldn't be interested in catching a falling knife.

2005-05-10

BUY

76.510

Stock came off very sharply on its latest quarterly numbers. A good buying opportunity. Continuing to ratchet down costs. Focusing on enterprise should generate good returns. A more defensive holding.

2005-05-02

DON'T BUY

75.430

Out of favour as they came out with a profits warning. Didn't close a lot of their big service contracts. Also people are not buying as many main frames.

2005-04-26

DON'T BUY

74.030

Fell off a cliff. Earnings were fairly dismal and even worse, they announced they were thinking of a re-organization. No one knows what that means. That puts a STOP sign up. Likes the basic revenue model of IBM which is increasingly based on service.

2005-04-21

WATCH

75.480

A solid franchise that they've been looking at for quite a while. Had an interesting quarter which identified a few geographies that were weak or thin. This may be a buying opportunity. He wants to understand what went on, whether there's anything substantial to the business. They may be restructuring, re-focusing their sales force to get close to the customer.

2005-04-19

DON'T BUY

91.790

Paul Harris, CFA

In a tough market investors go to the big caps like this, but they only made their numbers last time because they divested some holdings. Backlog was down. The length of their contracts is decreasing. Offshore companies is taking away a lot of their bussiness. Trades at 16 X earnings, so not excessively expensive.

2005-01-24

BUY

97.020

John Zechner

A falling US$ would be of benefit to a company like this that is exporting. Likes the fact that they are getting out of the PC business. Software has higher margins and is more stable. Strategy wise, they have re-invented themselves and have done very well.

2004-12-21

DON'T BUY

96.100

Mark Jackson, CFA

Well run. Exposed to a market that should do well here. For US holding, Dell might be better.

2004-12-07

PAST TOP PICK

95.100