Schaeffer's Street Chatter Highlights the Following Stocks: Exxon Mobil, Gateway, and Marvel Enterprises.

Business Editors

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 2004

Today's "Street Chatter" from Schaeffer's Investment Research focuses on: Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Gateway (NYSE:GTW), and Marvel Enterprises (NYSE:MVL). "Street Chatter" is a report that analyzes three newsworthy 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. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) is a popular discussion thread today, after Smith Barney initiated coverage on the stock with an unusual "sell" rating. The brokerage firm went on to opine that oil stocks in general are fully valued. In other news, XOM's Angola unit discovered a "significant addition" to its base. XOM has slipped below its 10-day moving average in today's session but is continuing to trend above double-barreled support near the 41.50 region. This was the site of short-term resistance earlier this year and is also home to the stock's 20-day moving average. Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for XOM weighs in at 0.43, which stands in the 43rd annual percentile. Short interest has been dwindling of late, dropping 48 percent during the last reporting period to 17.15 million, the lowest reading since the first quarter of 2002. The resultant short-interest ratio is just 1.57 times the security's average daily volume.

Click the following link to see the Daily Chart of XOM Since November 2003 With 10-Day and 20-Day Moving Averages:

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=9585 .

2. Gateway (NYSE:GTW) said this morning that it plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs (or about 30 percent of its workforce) following the impending merger with eMachines. Barring any quibbles from the Federal Trade Commission, this merger is expected to close on March 8 or 9 (that's early next week). At this point, GTW officials say its staff will be reduced from around 7,400 to somewhere in the mid-5,000 range. GTW is trading up a fraction today but has been on the rise over the past month, pulling above its 10-week and 20-week moving averages in the process. These intermediate-term trendlines have now completed a bullish crossover. Sentiment analysis on GTW reveals a mixed picture. The stock's SOIR stands at 1.04, an annual peak, with near-term puts narrowly outweighing near-term calls. Shorted GTW shares, however, as well as the equity's short-interest ratio, have been moving lower ever since October 2002. There are now just nine million GTW shares sold short, which is equal to a paltry short-interest ratio of under two times the equity's average daily volume.

Click the following link to see the Weekly Chart of GTW Since September 2003 With 10-Week and 20-Week Moving Averages:

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=9585 .

3. Comic-book publisher Marvel Enterprises (NYSE:MVL) said this morning that fourth-quarter earnings-per-share totaled 18 cents, a penny above Wall Street's consensus estimate. MVL officials also declared a three-for-two stock split, which will occur on March 26 for shareholders of record by March 12. In other, less cheery news, the company said that, due to a tax rate of 41 percent, the firm's 2004 earnings-per-share would range between $1.23 and $1.37. Previously, MVL had projected a tax rate of 37 percent and subsequent earnings between $1.31 and $1.48 per share. MVL shares have slipped seven percent lower today but their uptrend, in place since September 2002, remains in tact. The stock is above its ascending 10-week moving average and even remains on top of its 10-day and 20-day moving averages. MVL has enjoyed a monster uptrend of late, increasing nine-fold over the past 18 months. As for the sentiment picture on MVL, there are still some bears in the woods. First, there are over nine million MVL shares sold short, which amounts to a short-interest ratio of more than 10 days to cover. Short interest on MVL has risen 352 percent since April. Next, SOIR for MVL has been settling gradually lower since reaching an annual high in October but the indicator's reading is still fairly pessimistic at 0.77, higher than 65 percent of the past year's worth of readings.

Click the following link to see the Weekly Chart of MVL Since August 2002 With 10-Week and 20-Week Moving Averages:

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=9585 .

The best way to take advantage of the timely Schaeffer commentaries is to sign up to receive their free e-newsletters -- Opening View, Midday Report, Market Recap and Monday Morning Outlook. Click here to have the Schaeffer's commentaries delivered to you free via email every day. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/addinfo.

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 .