MSFT Jan 09 Calls

[barlowmi]

I have been considering getting back into Microsoft. Noticed the Jan '09 Calls are almost same price as the Oct '08 Calls. Seems like a deal to get an extra quarter worth of the options.

Opinions?

[Shhhhh]

Yeah I think that is a smart move... get yourself some extra time. Those 3 months could come in handy. Probably get a big move either way after the Elections... Hopefully it's UP!

Best of luck to you.
Shhhhh

[pedrom727]

Personally I believe paying a premium for someone to hold MSFT stock for you while it's at $28/share is not worth it, I'd much rather buy some at this level and write out of the money calls on half of the position to make a dividend for yourself. They reported great earnings and will likely hold up the best among tech companies in the recession due to necessities such as MS Office, Windows, and not to mention the Xbox division looks to be making a profit soon. I just think this whole Yahoo thing has really killed the stock, whether they do close or not I still believe the stock goes up. Unless they just get desperate and offer a higher amount without News Corp in which shareholders probably wouldn't be too happy. But if you believe there is still more significant downside in MSFT I'd definitely pick up the Jan calls as you are getting a huge discount on the time premium and can always sell it for more if you like what it's worth come October or so, by the way which strike are you looking at?

[Rynn]

The Yahoo deal is a huge uncertainty, and for this reason alone I would not get into MSFT right now.

Longer-term, if there is a significant recession, MSFT will be one of the worst hit. Windows, Office, etc are much more expensive than the competition. They sell well because people buy what is familiar to them, but if money gets really tight, there are cheaper alternatives. However, I don't think we're really in a recession yet. Xbox and games in general are still selling well so obviously people still have disposable income.

One other thing you need to realize about MSFT is that much of their income is from long-term licensing contracts, where they sell business and education customers site licenses for various software. There is a significant delay in their earnings, meaning earnings they report today may be from a contract signed a year ago. So when you look at 2009, think about sales from this year.

[nishcarter]

Dear friends,

MSFT in gonna pick up in XBOX sales. Thats confirm. This is because I work in a semi con where they test XBOX chips. N from the volume that they test I can see that the forecast in quite good n they have come up with new chips as well. So my decision is to go for Jan 2009 Calls.

Cheers
Nish

[peter518]

I would not touch MSFT call options since this company is not a leader any more, and its stock is still in the down trend. If you are interested in Tech stock options, my suggestions are buy GOOG and AAPL long term options on weakness, two leaders in their fields. RIMM could also be a choice.

Please do your DD.

Good luck with your investments.

peter

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Originally Posted by barlowmi

I have been considering getting back into Microsoft. Noticed the Jan '09 Calls are almost same price as the Oct '08 Calls. Seems like a deal to get an extra quarter worth of the options.

Opinions?

[MrSer]

Originally Posted by peter518

I would not touch MSFT call options since this company is not a leader any more, and its stock is still in the down trend. If you are interested in Tech stock options, my suggestions are buy GOOG and AAPL long term options on weakness, two leaders in their fields. RIMM could also be a choice.

Please do your DD.

Good luck with your investments.

peter

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Listen to this guy he knows what his talking about. I agree that 360 sales are probably good, but this won't push microsoft to the height where you will make good money off 09 calls. I think this year will be tough.

[Rynn]

Xbox is doing quite well. Unfortunately Vista is not, and Xbox earnings are miniscule compared to Windows Vista.

MSFT has a very tough year ahead.

[wallstreetsedge]

msft is a dead end imo... institutional money has been coming out of it and looking for the next high flyer and its not msft

what i would do is probably create a collar or a short straddle

[mattjames1]

I invest in a lot of tech stocks, but MSFT isn't one of them. I don't like their new search tool that gives people a discount on their products if they search for them on their search engine. I like AAPL and RIMM more.