Schaeffer's Street Chatter Highlights the Following Stocks: Abercrombie & Fitch, El Paso, and Rambus.

Business Editors

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 2004

Today's "Street Chatter" from Schaeffer's Investment Research focuses on: Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), El Paso (NYSE:EP), and Rambus (Nasdaq:RMBS). "Street Chatter" is a report that analyzes three stocks that are generating a lot of attention on Internet message boards. "Street Chatter" is published on www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/addinfo .

Street Chatter:

1. Apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) reported fourth-quarter earnings last night of 96 cents per share, a penny above Wall Street's consensus estimate and three cents beyond year-ago results. Total income reached $94.3 million for the reporting period. Total sales climbed 4.8 percent for ANF, but comparable-store sales results sagged by 11 percent. Looking to the near future, ANF officials say they are "comfortable" with first-quarter expectations of 26 cents per share. In other news, the company initiated a new cash dividend policy. The first payout will occur on March 30 to shareholders of record by March 9, and will total 12.5 cents per share. ANF has rallied nearly 10 percent today on above-average volume, hurdling above its 10-month moving average in the process. Today's rally is adding to the uptrend ANF has enjoyed since the beginning of 2004. On the sentiment front, short sellers may have been rudely awakened today after taking a sizeable bearish stake in ANF. During the last reporting period, the number of shorted ANF shares rose by 63 percent to 5.65 million, for a short-interest ratio of 2.54. On the options front, sentiment is mixed. Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for ANF stands at 0.85, which ranks in the 46th annual percentile.

Click the following link to see the Daily Chart of ANF Since November 2003 With 10-Day and 20-Day Moving Averages: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=9488 .

2. El Paso (NYSE:EP) is an oil and gas company, with the largest gas pipeline in the US and a total 60,000 miles of pipeline domestically and around the globe. The company also has today's worst-performing stock on the New York Stock Exchange in midday trading. Yesterday evening, the firm issued a revised proven reserves amount, which was lower by 35 percent following a review. This error will result in a $1 billion charge to the company. EP said that 2004 production would remain in line with current expectations, but Credit Lyonnais downgraded its rating on the stock nonetheless, reducing its designation to a "sell" from a "neutral." The stock has lost over 13 percent today on heavy volume but is clinging to support from its ascending 20-week moving average. This intermediate-term trendline has provided support to the shares for the past 10 months. EP options pits are active today, most notably at the March 8 put and the April 8 call. The January 2005 10 call and 7.5 put LEAPS positions are also attracting attention from the speculative crowd. Heading into today's activity, SOIR for EP weighed in at 0.83, which is higher than 75 percent of the past year's worth of readings. A study on Schaeffer's Sentiment PowerTools (http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/powertoolsobs) indicates that EP SOIR readings between 0.78 and 0.88 have preceded underperformance from the shares.

Click the following link to see the Weekly Chart of EP Since November 2003 With 10-Week and 20-Week Moving Averages: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=9488 .

3. Rambus (Nasdaq:RMBS) has gotten a dramatic boost higher thanks to an announcement last night from the Federal Trade Commission. A Federal Judge with the FTC threw out a charge from the US government, alleging RMBS had attempted to monopolize the market for synchronous dynamic random access memory chips through questionable behavior such as concealing patents more than a decade ago. RMBS has rallied 33 percent on this news, surging well above its 10-day and 20-day moving averages in the progress. The stock is now reaching toward its annual peak of 36.56, which was achieved in early January. SOIR for RMBS increased over the past two sessions, moving from a 41st percentile reading of 0.44 to its current reading of 0.55, higher than 94 percent of the past year's worth of data. Today, option players are honing in on the soon-to-expire February 35 and February 40 calls, while the May 35 call is seeing some action as well.

Click the following link to see the Daily Chart of RMBS Since September 2003 With 10-Day and 20-Day Moving Averages: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=9488 .

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About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .