|
|
|
ONLINE FEATURES
Book Reviews
BW Video
Columnists
Interactive Gallery
Newsletters
Past Covers
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Special Reports
BLOGS
The Auto Beat
Byte of the Apple
Europe Insight
Eye on Asia
Getting In
Investing Insights
The New Entrepreneur
NEXT: Innovation Tools & Trends
On Media
Technology at Work
The Tech Beat
Traveler's Check
TECHNOLOGY
Product Reviews
Tech Stats
Hands On
AUTOS
Home Page
Auto Reviews
Car Care & Safety
INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip FINANCE Investing: Europe Annual Reports Bloomberg BW50 SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth Companies: 2008 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs Rankings & Profiles |  |
MARCH 1, 2004
By Gene G. Marcial TiVo Raises The Volume  TiVo (TIVO
) has snapped back, to more than 11, after being beaten down to 6.20 in mid-December. It traded at 13.50 in July. TiVo is the pioneer in personal digital video recording (DVR), which lets customers record TV shows to watch later. The bulls and bears are in a tug-of-war: Skeptics say competition will shoot the stock down, while fans think its technology is out ahead.
One bull, Daniel Ernst of investment outfit Rodman & Renshaw, says TiVo has the "best blend of functionality and ease of use." Ernst, who rates it outperform, says TiVo is used by eight electronic-device makers, including RCA, Sony (SNE ), Toshiba (TOSBF ), and Pioneer. Ernst sees the stock doubling in two years and TiVo remaining a top player "over the long haul." One worry: Its partnership with News Corp. (NWS )-owned DirecTV, which offers TiVo to its satellite subscribers, may end when News Corp. perfects its own rival system. Ernst doubts this, noting that strong December demand for TiVo resulted in a shortage of TiVo units among DirecTV customers. Ernst figures the number of subscribers will rise to 2.5 million in the year ending Jan. 31, 2005, up from 1.4 million in January, 2004. In a recent press release, DirecTV said it would continue to "aggressively market the DirecTV DVR with TiVo." David Farina of investment firm William Blair, who rates TiVo a strong buy, says that should lay any worries to rest. He adds TiVo could also team up with a cable outfit, such as Comcast (CMCSK ). Note: Unless otherwise noted, neither the sources cited in Inside Wall Street nor their firms hold positions in the stocks under discussion. Similarly, they have no investment banking or other financial relationships with them.
 See Gene on Fridays at 1:20 p.m. EST on CNNfn's The Money Gang. Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
 Copyright 2004, Bloomberg L.P.Terms of Use | Privacy Notice |
Printer-Friendly Version
