I noticed that many tech stocks today have bumped up even though the Nasdaq is flat (as I write).

This must be a dead cat bounce?...or have they been beaten up ..so much...for so long?

Jabil (electronics  contract manufacturing) for one...increase in profits and a nice stock jump today.
Contract electronics maker Jabil Circuit Inc. rose after the company posted higher income in its fiscal third quarter and lifted its outlook for the rest of 2005. Its shares rose $2.83 to $31.27

Let's talk about semi's. AMD and MU are hitting significant highs. Is this an indication of health in the tech sector, or is it company-specific?

Intel on the other hand is finding new 52w lows. Again, is it the sector or the stock?

In all cases, it is the company-specific fundamentals driving the price. So seasonality (which is negative) aside, it is still possible to make money short-term trading. The question is, within the semi- market, which stocks have that trading potential for making some money?

Technology comment: U.S. recession, now what?
By Canaccord
We believe a US recession has started and that global tech spending will slow down in 2008. Hence, we have become decidedly more cautious in our outlook for the first half of the year. Our longer-term 12-24 month view on the tech sector remains bullish; however, we must accept the reality that investors with a 6-9 month time horizon are likely to experience considerable volatility and undersized returns, in our opinion. As such, we have carefully scrutinized our coverage universe, looking for solid defensive plays capable of best weathering a near-term spending slowdown. The key parameters we look for include international exposure, defensive verticals, cash and cash flow, recurring revenue, relative valuation, possibilities of M&A, experienced management teams and competitive
advantage. Based on the above and company-specific characteristics we are downgrading the following names to HOLD: Research in Motion (RIMM), Comverse (CMVT), BEA Systems (BEAS), Citrix (CTXS), and Certicom (CIC). We are maintaining ratings though lowering target prices on the following names: Absolute Software (ABT), Intrinsyc (ICS), Cerner (CERN), IBM (IBM), and Redknee (RKN). Ratings and targets remain unchanged for the following companies: March Networks (MN), Redline (RDL), DragonWave (DWI), Sandvine (SVC), Pethealth (PTZ), IDC (IDC), Microsoft (MSFT) and CGI (GIB). Finally, we are upgrading Open Text (OTEX) to BUY from Hold. Outside of our coverage universe, we would recommend that investors boost exposure to larger diversified multinationals. Our preferred picks include Oracle (ORCL), Intel (INTC) and Cisco (CSCO). We would shy away from Nokia (NOK), Apple (AAPL) and Palm (PALM).

Guys check out VMWare Today.

VMW            38.71                    -14.48      27.22%      

It looks like at one point or another, competing against MSFT is not a winning endevour, unless you're AAPL and make ipods.

CC;

Along with your analysis, I (perhaps others too?) would like to hear about where/when you are putting actual hard earned $ at risk. That's what I liked about Canuck2004 when he was here.....he not only gave opinions, but also indicated when he bought and what price. I have always found that money talks louder than words......and try to follow that mantra when I post, whether the position is successful or not.

TIA

CSCO is looking interesting again.  Good growth potential at an attractive multiple.  A proxy on global economic recovery.  Missed it late last week...I'd like to pick it up below 23.

http://stockcharts.com/charts/gallery.html?csco

Csco looks like it has yet to bottom. Do you think $17ish is a more likely price target and entry point?