Although I have not been around stocks much for the last 12 years or so, I was a very active investor in small technology stocks before, during, and after (for a while) the Internet Bubble burst. Returning to my stock roots this year has been very eye opening. I still recognize many of the stocks that I either owned or followed back in the day, but there are many of my past tech favorites that seemed to have vanished into thin air. Will list a few of both of these to see what happened to these companies and their respective stocks.
Off the Stock Radar:
Brooktrout Technology – One of my all-time favorites and made money off of more than once. Was bought out by Dialogic.
Softpoint – One of my first brushes with investing in a penny stock. Saw it on a TV commercial and called for a prospectus. Was a point of sale company that was de-listed many years ago.
Dialogic – Bought Brooktrout but last seen trading for pennies and has now been bought by a private equity firm.
Plasma-Therm – Was bought in 2000 by Swiss conglomerate Oerlikon and renamed Unaxis. Later, the company was bought by the management team in St. Petersburg in 2009 and renamed Plasma-Therm.
Transmeta – Once a hot IPO, Transmeta had great “potential”. Unfortunately that potentiual never really translated in good sales and earnings. The company was bought out and then defunct by 2009.
ADC Telecom – My first quality stock ever. Made money for me a couple of times. Was eventually acquired by Tyco Electronics in December 2010 and ceased to exist.
Still Around and Kicking:
Network Appliance (NTAP) – My favorite network storage stock that I wrote about many times for the old WallStreetCity.com. The stock really peaked during the Internet bubble back in 2000 and has never really returned to that top. However, it does trade at a decent P/E ratio of 22 and is very close to its 52 week high.
Brocade (BRCD) – My second favorite network storage company back in the day. It has a similar P/E ratio but the stock has been hit even harder than NTAP trading mostly under $10 for at least 12 years. This one may join the stocks above as there is a rumor that they could be looking to be bought out.
Qualcom (QCOM) – One of the favorites of the WallStreetCity team as a wireless leader. Is the closest of these stocks to rebound to its former stock price glory back in 2000.
Anadigics (ANAD) – Serves the broadband and wireless markets with radio frequency/microwave integrated circuit solutions. However, It was speculative stock then and it still is over 15 years later with a current price tag of only 77 cents.
MRV Communications (MRVC) – Basically starting looking after this stock after success with ADC Telecom. Was also a high-flying stock before the 2000 crash and saw moderate success after with a few dividends and a stock split. However, it is currently trading near a 52 week low of $9.26 per share.
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