Storage systems outfit EMC Corp saw its stock surge to new highs at the end of last week, but Credit Suisse First Boston believes there’s still room to move up. Analyst Amit Chopra feels the Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based company will report strong third- quarter numbers that will exceed CSFB’s earnings estimate of $0.35 per share. The bank also expects EMC to provide optimistic guidance during its third-quarter conference call, and has raised its 1999 earnings per share estimate from $1.80 to $1.86 and its revenue growth rate estimate from 25% to 29%. CSFB reckons that EMC exists in a relatively benign competitive landscape, with IBM Corp and Sun Microsystems Inc are still some way from really getting their hats in the ring. Its software sales also appear to be benefiting from year 2000 testing, which in turn, boost hardware sales, and CSFB has upped its software sales growth rate from 56% to 64%. It maintains a 12-month price target of $70 for EMC stock. Shares in the company rose $1.125 to close at $61.875 Friday, giving the stock a gain of roughly 21% for the week.
