We believe the mainframe weakness will persist into the fall and possibly the December quarter, when G7 moves into full swing. In our view, this is more than a first-quarter issue, and we think both stocks will likely remain depressed.

We believe the mainframe weakness will persist into the fall and possibly the December quarter, when G7 moves into full swing. In our view, this is more than a first-quarter issue, and we think both CA and BMC will likely remain depressed.

We expect Oracle could appreciate at a more tempered rate over the intermediate term as fourth-quarter ... license revenues were muted by sluggish database growth, with strong earnings-per-share upside on continued margin expansion.

We are leaving our fiscal 2001 estimates and $87 12-month price objective for Microsoft materially unchanged, following fourth-quarter results that were largely devoid of the drama of the past two quarters. Nonetheless, 'caution' remains the operative word from Microsoft management, as continued choppy monthly unit demand from business PCs and a deliberate, gradual ramp from Windows 2000 platforms and related applications hinders near-term growth.

We do not believe that investors should be buying MSFT on a breakup valuation criteria; a breakup, if it were to make it through an appeal, would be executed three or more years from today, which is an eternity in the Internet-centric world. The legal overhang appears to be lengthening, unfortunately, for Microsoft.

We believe that Oracle shares, which closed Monday below $15, have limited downside and may move to near the $20 level over the next 12 to 18 months on a modestly improved earnings outlook and expanded [price-to-earnings] multiple, perhaps to the 38 to 40 range.