| TOP PICK | 19.680 | Gordon Reid | A database and middleware software company. Management is a master at acquiring companies and merging them into the culture. Expecting $1.25 in earnings in 08 and $1.45 in 09. Beating the competition hands down. | 2008-03-12 | |
| BUY | 21.580 | David Burrows | He likes the software space. A lot of these companies have very strong recurring revenues and both Open Text (OTC-T) and Oracle (ORCL-Q) are in this category but be aware of the views of the market. Making some great acquisitions. Churning out cash like no tomorrow. A Buy, but wait until the smoke clears. | 2008-01-18 | |
| HOLD | 20.210 | Paul Thornton | This stock didn’t really start to do anything until the last year or so. Has been hit hard recently due to the overall correction of the market. In relatively better condition than a lot of them. Has high relative strength and is therefore more favourable. | 2007-11-21 | |
| TOP PICK | 20.170 | Alan Kral | Beneficiary of what is happening in the computer world. Remains #1 in a lot of database operations. With growth of the Internet and willingness of consumers to purchase over the Internet, they are coming out with more sophisticated programs to keep track | 2007-09-10 | |
| BUY | 18.700 | Paul Harris, CFA | Had made several large controversial acquisitions, which they have been able to integrate quite well. Relatively low multiple with good growth prospects. | 2007-04-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 18.490 | Peter Hofstra | Have been extremely acquisitive. It seems they have been able to integrate the acquisitions quite effectively in the last couple of quarters and the numbers are starting to bear out. At this price, he doesn't feel you are getting rewarded for taking the risk. | 2007-03-22 | |
| Comment | 17.770 | David Baskin | This is the 900 lb. gorilla in its space. It's a good thing, because you are the price maker, but it's a bad thing because there is not that much more market share to take away from others. Growth has stalled. | 2007-01-10 | |
| WEAK BUY | 17.100 | Norman Levine | Looking at the software part of the tech sector. Has been executing very well and has made a number of acquisitions. Earnings were better than expected. Sales were a little soft. | 2006-12-20 | |
| WEAK BUY | 17.880 | Peter Hofstra | Has looked fairly cheap on a fee cash flow yield. Fairly aggressive on the acquisition trail and appears that it is starting to work out. Prefers Cisco (CSCO-Q). | 2006-12-06 | |
| HOLD | 18.860 | David Driscoll | A tough business to be in these days. Lots of competition. NASDAQ should hold up reasonably well. | 2006-12-05 | |
| BUY | 19.050 | Paul Harris, CFA | Under performed SAP (SAP-N) for many years when they made several acquisitions. Market worried about integration. It appears they have been able to do that and they have a full suite of products that will work for them. | 2006-11-30 | |
| HOLD | 18.520 | Peter Hofstra | There is probably some room to go for the stock. Has been very acquisitive. Could be another big acquisition for them. Will be one of the pillars of technology for business software going forward. | 2006-10-30 | |
| SELL | 17.660 | Bill Carrigan | Thinks it is an "exhuastive gap". It is a "sleepy stock". It's a "seller" not a "buyer". Could reduce, don't enter. | 2006-10-02 | |
| WEAK BUY | 15.520 | Peter Hofstra | Very compelling, but not a fan of the very aggressive CEO. Have had a few excellent quarters and in a very strong position to benefit from that. You are probably okay with this. | 2006-08-29 | |
| BUY | 15.480 | Norman Levine | This company and the whole software area are among the best parts of the NASDAQ market and may be due to consolidation. | 2006-08-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.220 | David Burrows | This is not the time to be buying technology stocks. This is actually one of the better performing stocks in the NASDAQ 100 however, the NASDAQ 100 is the weakest performing index right now. | 2006-07-12 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 14.290 | Brian Acker, CA | (A Top Pick Mar 29/06. Up 6%.) A mispriced asset. Came out with a positive report on Friday. | 2006-06-19 | |
| WAIT | 14.110 | Ian Ainsworth | Their strong business is database business which is not big growth. It grows when they have a new product. Have made acquisitions to strengthen their application side, but not sure this will work. | 2006-05-09 | |
| DON'T BUY | 13.840 | Peter Hofstra | Has gone sideways for the last little while. Their core product, database management software, is a great product and continues to produce all kinds of cash. Have made a lot of acquisitions which has made the market nervous. | 2006-04-11 | |
| TOP PICK | 13.720 | Brian Acker, CA | His model price is $18.60. That's a 37% positive differential. | 2006-03-29 | |
| BUY | 13.990 | Peter Hofstra | Probably good value. The issue is the elephant factor, that is, competition is Microsoft. Solid balance sheet. Good free cash flow. | 2006-03-22 | |
| SELL | 13.620 | Norman Levine | There are better places to be. They have been on a mad buying spree, buying up all their competitors but they have not been generating organic sales growth. | 2006-03-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.990 | Brad Willock | A very good company, but they are definitely on the acquisition train. There is more to do. Bought People Soft recently and there will be others to follow. Prospects are pretty decent, but prefers Microsoft (MSFT-Q) where management is very focused on cost cutting and they have a new product rollout in the last half of this year. | 2005-08-31 | |
| DON'T BUY | 13.320 | Phil Taller | Multiple is pretty reasonable. Making big acquisitions, probably because its organic growth is not what it once was. Prefers software that has organic growth such as business intelligence software such as Cognos (CSN-T). | 2005-07-06 | |
| BUY | 13.290 | John Zechner | Have done well on the acquisition trail. A little concerned on the sector in general. This one seems to be one of the consolidators in the sector right now. | 2005-07-04 | |
| BUY | 12.850 | Ian Ainsworth | Good company. There are a lot of good things that could be brought forward over the next little while. Very strong in the database side and are gaining market share against IBM (IBM-N) using the Linux platform. The growth in storage is at the low end. Positioned very well. | 2005-05-27 | |
| DON'T BUY | 13.660 | Ross Healey | There's measured upside, something like $17/18. Doesn't care for high technololgy stocks or sector. Doesn't expect it to do terribly well. | 2005-02-04 | |
| DON'T BUY | 13.100 | Norman Levine | Along with NASDAQ, you have probably seen the best for this stock for the next year. All the good news is now behind it. | 2005-01-05 | |
| HOLD | 13.280 | David Burrows | There is new strength in the enterprise software market. They are looking for a 5% growth rate, which is not significant. Merging with Peoplesoft. If it moves $1 higher in a breakout, it could go significantly higher. | 2004-12-10 | |
| TOP PICK | 10.620 | John Sinkins, CFA | Has been buying as a value play. Overhang on the issue of Peoplesoft and where growth is going to come from. Hopefully their enterprise software/licensing business will pick up a bit. A lot of cash. | 2004-09-13 | |
| DON'T BUY | 10.380 | Gavin Graham | Stock prices will depend upon IT departments start spending on software again. The PeopleSoft bid drags on. | 2004-07-29 | |
| DON'T BUY | 11.140 | Stephen Masson | Very good earnings on the database side. Would like to have seen more growth on the application side which is still -6% year-over-year. Fully priced. | 2004-06-18 | |
| BUY | 11.400 | Reza Samahin | The leader in database technology. Introducing new products that are getting the eye of the customer because they are able to scale in a big way. | 2004-05-07 | |
| BUY | 11.430 | Ross Healey | This would be a good entry-level. 10 X book. Speculative. | 2004-04-29 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.370 | Glenn Paradis, BA, CFA | Has had its trials. Hasn't participated in the recent run-up. Would prefer other names in the software sector. | 2004-04-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.070 | Peter Arender, CFA | Not seeing earnings growth. Not cheap. | 2004-04-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 13.630 | Norman Levine | Is scarey because it depends on one person, and he can be a lose canon. If something happened to him the company would be half its current price. | 2004-02-11 | |
| BUY | 13.450 | Brad Willock | Owned for a long time. Merger unlikely to happen. Business is getting better. They produce a lot of cash flow. | 2004-02-10 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.850 | Paul O'Neil | Have had problems, with IBM and Microsoft coming at them, as well as problems trying to acquire Peoplesoft. Last quarter was a big positive surprise because of the stronger US$. Things are getting better, but not his favorite tech name. | 2004-01-16 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.890 | Robert McWhirter | Ranks well in their database. Year-over-year earnings are up about 20%. Earnings are forecasted to grow modestly from this point on. | 2004-01-15 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.240 | Mark Jackson, CFA | Has lagged the overall tech market. Has not seen growth and has some margin issues. Prefers others. | 2004-01-08 | |
| TOP PICK | 13.600 | Howard Sutton | A global play on the basis that databases need to be upgraded. The acquisition of PeopleSoft would also be good. | 2004-01-06 | |
| VAGUE | 12.180 | David Chapman | Chart shows that it could be a head and shoulders top. | 2003-10-30 | |
| BUY | 11.700 | Stephane Rochon | Will be weighed down by its proposed acquisition of People Soft. Decision not likely until mid-December. Generates tremendous cash flow and has a strong balance sheet. Not cheap but attractive on a free cash flow basis. | 2003-10-27 | |
| WAIT | 11.720 | Paul O'Neil | Microsoft and IBM are attacking them on the database side. Also been attacked on the application side by others. Trying to make acquisitions to fend them off. If they can buy Peoplesoft they should be OK. | 2003-10-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.330 | Robert McWhirter | Ranks just below the midpoint on their database. Earnings estimates have dropped by 2%. Sales growth is pretty draggy. | 2003-10-10 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 11.980 | Ray Steele | There will be difficulties with acquisitions. Not sure how they're going to proceed once they get the acquisition completed. Will probably see some correction over the next month. Just look some profits. | 2003-10-03 | |
| DON'T BUY | 11.390 | John Zechner | Not sure if these guys are the big winners in the sector.Prefers others. | 2003-08-07 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 12.090 | Brad Willock | (Was a top pick on May 23/03. No change.) Still likes. Should continue showing improvement. | 2003-07-17 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.640 | Brian Acker, CA | Fully valued. | 2003-07-14 | |
| BUY | 12.800 | John Sinkins, CFA | Likes the space their in. Sees upside to the end of the year. | 2003-06-02 | |
| TOP PICK | 12.100 | Brad Willock | A little expensive. They have their year end report at the end of May and the year seems to be shaping up rather well. Have landed some decent deals. | 2003-05-23 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 12.130 | Brad Willock | (Was a top pick on Feb 13. Up 2.6%.) Still likes. A market leader and was bought as a hedge in the event of an uptick in the market. | 2003-04-22 | |
| TOP PICK | 10.630 | John Sinkins, CFA | Maintaining their operating numbers so good margins. Good revenue. | 2002-12-18 | |
| DON'T BUY | 10.010 | Howard Sutton | There is some big competition on the application side. | 2002-10-30 | |
| WEAK BUY | 8.310 | John Sinkins, CFA | Cheap. | 2002-10-02 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 7.990 | Paul O'Neil | Good balance sheet. Wait for corporate spending to pick up. Buy at $6/7. | 2002-09-20 | |
| BUY | 9.280 | Joe Connolly | Had a good quarter. Business spending is picking up for them. | 2002-09-16 | |
| DON'T BUY | 9.060 | Larry Berman CFA, CMT, CTA | Has dropped and recovered a bit. Could drop again. Not a fan of techs at this time. | 2002-09-03 | |
| WEAK BUY | 10.790 | Robert McWhirter | Ranks in the top quarter of their model. Has had a "suspect" rally. Not cheap. Treat as a trading stock. | 2002-08-23 | |
| BUY | 11.190 | Brian Acker, CA | Good price. | 2002-08-22 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 10.050 | John Sinkins, CFA | (Was a top pick on May 9. Up 7%.) Still likes. Treat as a long term play. | 2002-08-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 9.250 | Robert McWhirter | Ranks in the middle of the pack of their database. The price to sales ratio is not cheap. | 2002-08-03 | |
| DON'T BUY | 9.550 | Brian Acker, CA | Good company. Model price is $10. Balance sheet hasn't grown. | 2002-07-04 | |
| BUY | 8.680 | Brendan Caldwell | Buy a little at a time. | 2002-07-02 | |
| WEAK BUY | 9.470 | David Burrows | Overowned in the past. Could have a rally, so treat as a trading stock. | 2002-06-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 7.920 | David Burrows | Too many sellers on any uptick. Overowned in good times, so investors are moving their money. | 2002-05-31 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.800 | Howard Sutton | Needs to be successful on its applications side of the business. Database side is OK, but not growing. | 2002-05-22 | |
| TOP PICK | 8.480 | John Sinkins, CFA | 16 X next years earnings. | 2002-05-09 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.220 | David Baskin | Have to wait for corporate spending to increase. | 2002-05-06 | |
| DON'T BUY | 10.130 | Howard Sutton | 7 X sales. Strong competition. Might buy at $8. | 2002-04-26 | |
| BUY | 12.220 | John Sinkins, CFA | Can see it appreciating. | 2002-04-04 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.220 | Arthur Heinmaa | No debt. Sector is expensive. Margins are slim. | 2002-04-04 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.480 | David Driscoll | The price to revenue is 11 which is way too high. Will take time to recover. | 2002-04-03 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.480 | David Burrows | Over bought. May have troubles this coming quarter. | 2002-04-03 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 12.530 | Joe Connolly | (Was a top pick on Nov 28 down 9.1%) Good solid earnings. Valuation is 20 X earnings. A little high. With their expansion of their 9i server, they should do very well. | 2002-04-02 | |
| TOP PICK | 8.350 | Brendan Kyne | Likes the golds, especially the midcaps. This company has low cost production, so makes money even when gold is down. | 2002-04-02 | |
| TOP PICK | 13.150 | Joe Connolly | Should see some growth potential. A 29% multiple. Have cash. | 2002-03-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.600 | Paul O'Neil | In a squeeze between Microsoft and IBM. Has cash. May technically test at $13. | 2002-03-18 | |
| DON'T BUY | 15.500 | Howard Sutton | Too much competition. Could drop. $11/12/13 good buy. | 2002-02-22 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 16.620 | Brian Acker, CA | Treat as a trading stock with a range of $10 to $17. | 2002-01-30 | |
| DON'T BUY | 16.750 | Howard Sutton | Has some challenges. Buy in the low teens. | 2002-01-23 | |
| DON'T BUY | 15.750 | Ian Nakamoto | Prefers Microsoft. | 2002-01-08 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 14.060 | Brian Acker, CA | Too pricey. Would buy at $10. | 2001-12-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.920 | Michelle Calpin | Good data base business, but doesn't like their application side of the business. | 2001-12-19 | |
| BUY | 15.050 | Glenn Paradis, BA, CFA | 10% annual growth. Good operating margins. Good prospects. | 2001-12-18 | |
| DON'T BUY | 15.900 | Brian Acker, CA | Had a good run but expensive. | 2001-12-06 | |
| TOP PICK | 14.120 | Joe Connolly | Good software. | 2001-11-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.420 | Brian Dawson | Wait to see how their new 9 version of their software does. | 2001-11-27 | |
| BUY | 15.380 | Ray Steele | Very volatile. Should be much higher in one year. | 2001-11-09 | |
| BUY | 14.960 | David Driscoll | A lot of cash. Good company. | 2001-11-05 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 13.560 | Glenn Paradis, BA, CFA | Not much growth. In a "trading" range. | 2001-10-31 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 14.940 | Glenn Paradis, BA, CFA | (Was a top pick on May 4 down 16%) Still likes. Wait for 2 quarters. | 2001-10-16 | |
| BUY | 12.210 | David Baskin | Software sales are down. Very strong company and good mngmnt. Good entry point now. Will be a survivor. | 2001-08-31 | |
| BUY | 14.010 | John McColl | A leader in their field. A good buy for long term. | 2001-08-28 | |
| BUY | 14.810 | Glenn Paradis, BA, CFA | Well positioned for the long term. Good balance sheet. Buy under $15 | 2001-08-20 | |
| WAIT | 15.160 | David Driscoll | Cyclical and will take 6/12 months to turn around. Good market share. | 2001-08-10 | |
| DON'T BUY | 15.990 | Ian Nakamoto | Businesses are not buying software. Can go lower. | 2001-08-09 | |
| BUY | 17.240 | John Sinkins, CFA | Will be slow in the short term. Good for the long term. | 2001-08-07 | |
| DON'T BUY | 19.170 | Jeff Morrison | High P/E. Quality company. Watching. Near term NO. | 2001-07-19 | |
Experts that have talked about Oracle