Many views make a market, they say, and while most analysts are sanguine about the outlook for Ashton-Tate Corp in the wake of the further delay is shipping dBase IV, but Charlotte Walker, analyst with County Securities, who rates the shares a hold, is nevertheless worried: Ashton-Tate won’t be out of the woods even when it ships the new product, she said – It’s more a question of how well dBase IV will sell six months from now in the aftermarket, and if there are any problems, glitches, or mishaps, then the Torrance, California database company could be in for some big problems, she warned, noting that there was a large volume of dBase III packages clogging the dealer channels, and dealers can return unsold products to Ashton, thus crippling earnings.
