Paper tiger

Black Enterprise, Jan, 1999

Investment newsletter "Wall Streetwise" edges out the S&P 500

The portfolio. North Carolina is a world away from Manhattan, but Wall Streetwise (800-419-1318), an investment newsletter based in Durham, North Carolina, seemed to have a good reading of the stock exchange's pulse. Thanks to a standout performance by MCI Worldcom, which had a 52-week high of nearly $70, Wall Streetwise Editor Chris Wilson saw his portfolio race off to an 18% gain for the year vs. 15% for the Standard & Poor's 500. Although the remaining stocks in the portfolio didn't quite shine as brightly as MCI Worldcom, they did more than hold their own, particularly healthcare company Omnicare, which posted a 10.5% rise for the year.

The outlook. Wilson says he's happy to stick with his hand during the year to come with one exception--Ballantyne, an Omaha, Nebraska, maker of motion picture and photographic equipment. The company is a bit too heavily dependent on Mexico and Asia for continued growth for Wilson's peace of mind. Instead, he recommends switching into shares of Quintiles (Nasdaq: QTRN), a company that conducts clinical trials and test markets new drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. The company is slated to break the $1 billion annual sales mark, Wilson says, and should provide steady growth over the years to come.

                                          Current        Price at
Stock (Exchange: Symbol)                 Price(*)     Recommendation

MCI Worldcom (Nasdaq:WCOM)              $50.94           $30.25
Ballantyne of Omaha (NYSE: BTN)           7.06(**)        10.25
Omnicare (NYSE: OCR)                     31.44            28.44
Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI)    41.00            39.00
State Street (NYSE: STT)                 61.56            57.81
Portfolio Average

                                                      Current Value
                                           Total        of $1,000
Stock (Exchange: Symbol)                  Return        Investment

MCI Worldcom (Nasdaq:WCOM)                 68.4%          $1,684
Ballantyne of Omaha (NYSE: BTN)           -31.1              689
Omnicare (NYSE: OCR)                       10.5            1,105
Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI)       5.1            1,051
State Street (NYSE: STT)                    6.5            1,065
Portfolio Average                          11.9%           5,594

                                        Est. 5-Year
                                          Annual
Stock (Exchange: Symbol)                EPS Growth

MCI Worldcom (Nasdaq:WCOM)                   30.5%
Ballantyne of Omaha (NYSE: BTN)              18.5
Omnicare (NYSE: OCR)                         28.8
Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI)        27.3
State Street (NYSE: STT)                     15.2
Portfolio Average

(*) As of 11/3/98.

(**) Price reflects 3-for2 stack split.

EPS growth rates from Zacks Investment Research.