FIT FIRMS WILL SURVIVE TECH WRECK.

Byline: Robert Monroe Staff Writer

Area companies haven't been immune from a stock market turning bearish, but analysts say they see positives in most sectors represented locally.

And it's not just because it's their job to be bullish.

They also point out that there are classic hard-times heroes nestled among the tech shooting stars of the 101 Corridor. A survey of analysts found positive forecasts for all but the entertainment sector.

Edward Jones analyst Dave Powers, for example, thinks the technology sector has received a healthy chastening.

Powers said his firm is more bullish now on tech stocks than it was in the heady days around New Year's. There are so many sell-off induced bargains around that Edward Jones reweighted its portfolio recently to include more from that sector.

``Tech investors tend to go from greed to fear rather quickly,'' said Powers.

In other brokerage houses, analysts said bear market rules should govern investors. Look, they say, for the companies with strong fundamentals and those that traditionally benefit from downturns.

Tom Meagher, an analyst with BB&T Capital Markets, said defense sector and computer systems stocks should remain safe buys even as a ``tech wreck'' unfolds around them. Woodland Hills-based Litton is a perfect example, he said. Its shares have scarcely budged in this week, sticking close to the $45 range.

``If you look at what's been going on with the presidential election, regardless of who wins, spending is going to go up,'' Meagher said. ``They are considered stocks that are very solid in times of turmoil.''

Likewise, thrift stocks exemplified by Calabasas' Countrywide Credit Industries are good in bad times, said Lehman Bros. analyst Tom Hain.

``We think these thrift stocks are the perfect ones to be in right now,'' Hain said. ``If the Fed has to ease (interest rates), these stocks are going to respond very, very nicely.''

Stocks like Countrywide and Litton are the kind that put speculators to sleep. Their price-to-earnings ratios run around a conservative 10. In contrast, Camarillo's Power-One's P/E ratio runs around 208 and the telecommunications equipment company's stock has split twice this summer. It has fallen off about $20 a share since its last split a month ago, but analysts think its orders backlog will see it through a tumultuous season.

Powers thinks the bear market will finally eliminate tech companies with flawed business plans, but those with strong product lines will endure. He likes mainstays like Dell and Intel.

``The whole market is under the cloud of what's taking place in the macroeconomic market,'' Powers said.

``We'd just as soon put our money to work in companies we can be comfortable with long-term.''

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