Bill Martin and Matt Ragas Highlight: Activision, Parker Drilling, McDermott, Horizon Offshore, Vitesse, Ameritrade, USA Interactive, and Lending Tree.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2003

Who said it's hard to find profit in this market? With a pair of pros like Bill Martin and Matt Ragas, the hard work is done for you. Stop wandering and take a look at several stocks that have caught their attention. Get their takes on Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI), Parker Drilling (NYSE:PKD), McDermott (NYSE:MDR), Horizon Offshore (NASDAQ:HOFF), Vitesse Semiconductor (NASDAQ:VTSS), Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD), USA Interactive (NASDAQ:USAI), and Lending Tree (NASDAQ:TREE). Click here for the full story exclusively on Zacks.com: http://featuredexpert2bw.zacks.com/

Here are the highlights from the Featured Expert column:

Video game maker Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) was traded nicely higher Monday on an analyst upgrade and some company news. The move in ATVI seems to be coming from the Piper Jaffray upgrade and the general feeling among some investors that ATVI is poised to report solid fiscal fourth quarter results and guidance on Thursday. Two weeks ago, ATVI upped its guidance for its fiscal Q4 and for its full year results. ATVI continues to be in the middle of a difficult transition, as it deals with a scaled down launch schedule for new titles and tougher competition for retail shelf space, but Bill Martin and Matt Ragas believe the company is well positioned for a Christmas selling season turnaround.

Bill and Matt wanted to point out that they're seeing some interesting insider buying in the natural gas/energy/drilling sectors lately. For starters, there was some insider buying by the CFO of Parker Drilling (NYSE:PKD) back in late February. PKD is a newer holding in the Special Opportunity model portfolio. Bill and Matt have also been intrigued by the recent renewed wave of insider buys at energy services company McDermott (NYSE:MDR) and marine construction services company Horizon Offshore (NASDAQ:HOFF). Bill and Matt have only done preliminary research on both MDR and HOFF to date, but they'll keep you posted as they work their contacts and do additional homework on these names, as well as other natural gas-levered drilling and exploration and production (E&P) companies.

On Monday, Bill and Matt sold all 825 shares of Vitesse Semiconductor (NASDAQ:VTSS) that they owned in the Special Opportunity model portfolio. Why sell VTSS? While they were satisfied with VTSS' latest quarterly earnings report, and the company is clearly marching back towards profitability, VTSS is no longer a cheap stock up here at the $4 level. Bill and Matt have enjoyed the rally in small cap tech shares over the past month as much as anyone, but they're also conscious of the fact that tech spending remains weak and isn't likely to show a significant up-tick

anytime soon.

Shares of leading pure play online broker, Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD) were flying high in active trading Monday. Raymond James upgraded AMTD to 'Strong Buy' from 'Outperform' and placed a $9 price target on the stock. Also helping AMTD was speculation that USA Interactive (NASDAQ:USAI) might be interested in acquiring an online broker to complement USAI's new foray into financial services via the Lending Tree (NASDAQ:TREE) acquisition. AMTD has long been one of Bill and Matt's favorite positions, and they think the company is potentially attractive to any number of potential suitors.

Learn about all of the stocks in Bill Martin and Matt Ragas' portfolios and continue getting the unique market analysis that sets these guys apart, including their "5 Must Own Bargain Stocks for 2003" special report by clicking: http://featuredexpert3bw.zacks.com/

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