Thursday, 01/17/08 Posted 01/18/08,  8:16 am	(Scroll down to see Jim's comments below)

Today's date:  Thursday, 01/17/08
	Dow Jones:	12,159		- 306
	NASDAQ:		2,346	- 47
	S&P 500:		1,333	- 39

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Stock Snapshots - Includes all stocks mentioned above

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Jim Cramer's rating on this stock	STOCK SYMBOL	Closing price that day	Opening price next day	Full Company Name/Comments (see comments above for each)
	LVS	74.46	73.55	Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS)
	WYNN	96.89	97.03	Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN)
	MGM	67.81	67.61	MGM Mirage (MGM)

 

Hey, the market's horrible... you don't need me to tell you that... but it doesn't mean I'm ever going to stop looking for a company that could be a value to another company, if not to you.

We're not going to be looking at a blind opportunity... we're not going to be aggressive.  We know it's a bear market, but we've got to keep looking...

I mean, that's why we've been hunting all week for notes from the tech underground...  I've been doing a series on tech stocks that have been beaten down and washed out, and I have said that they could go lower, but I have also said that they are below their intrinsic value, and their businesses are still going strong.

.  .  .  .  .

Tonight, my down-but-not-out tech stock... it's a little guy, you'll like it, but don't pay up for it, because it's little... is Wind River Systems (WIND).

It's off 33% since November.  Nothing's happened...  This is actually better than November.

In light of the BEA Systems (BEAS) deal we got yesterday, I'm thinking WIND makes a great takeover candidate.  It could make you a bundle at these prices, and the business is good.  It's not like I'm recommending something bad that I hope gets taken over...

.  .  .  .  .

It makes what are called embedded systems... These consist of a microprocessor and an operating system... the operating system is the software the processor runs...

See WIND's website and profile to do more homework on what this company does.

.  .  .  .  .

All right, what's the real hook here?...

WIND has teamed up with Google Inc. (GOOG)...  GOOG's open handset alliance, along with LIMO, they were the only Linux OS (i.e., operating system) provider that was highlighted in Google's Android press release...

In other words, in a bull market, we'd be paying twice this already, because of just the relationship with Google... but we're not in a bull market, we're in a bear market...

On December 20th, an analyst from Benchmark - a good firm - talked about a meeting he had with WIND's management, when they hinted that there are "several trophy deals" in the pipe...

Hey, what do I think?... I think it sounds like a good, big deal and maybe works for Google... You probably want to get in ahead of it... no urgency. 

.  .  .  .  .

This $619 million stock has only gotten cheaper, about a quarter above its 52-week low right now...

You'd think it has a lot of debt, right?  But it has an immaculate balance sheet... It has $111 million in cash, no debt at all.  That's what a good takeover target should look like.

For a takeover to happen, WIND needs a suitor... and I think it would be attractive to the usual suspects...  SAP (SAP), Oracle (ORCL), Cisco (CSCO), especially IBM (IBM), Motorola (MOT)...

IBM bought Telogic, a company that makes embedded software, part of what WIND does, and we know that IBM's making hay with their acquisition, actually up today... They just did that in June... they're clearly interested in the space...

Given WIND's work in the mobile handset - think of Google's contract - this one should definitely be attractive to MOT, which needs growth...

We wouldn't be surprised if Icahn, looking at how much money he made on the last deal, valued this one in the mid-teens.  He could be skeptical about gains this big, given the weakness in the market, and we're not calling for a turn in the market... We think it's a bear market, and we think it goes lower... We're not calling for a turn in this market...

But we're talking about tech players with hoards of cash... cash that they're desperate to spend on growth, and will pay.   Remember, these guys don't need to borrow to acquire anybody, and this is a natural.      

.  .  .  .  .

Even without a takeover, WIND's fundamentals are solid, and you can bet there are some upcoming catalysts, thanks to their work with Google and the open handset alliance.  There could be some big gains.

.  .  .  .  .

The Bottom Line!:     We are not saying the market's done going down...  We are saying please don't buy in the aftermarket, because these stocks aren't necessarily going to run right now.  We're saying, maybe it's a tech needle in a haystack...  It's been sold off in a panic... it's gotten too cheap... and we think it recovers.

.  .  .  .  .

Jim Cramer's rating on this stock	STOCK SYMBOL	Closing price that day	Opening price next day	Full Company Name/Comments (see comments above for each)
	WIND	8.15	8.59	Wind River Systems Inc. (WIND)

 

Go to the LIGHTNING ROUND from tonight's show here >> See current quotes on Yahoo! Finance from tonight's show stocks here >>
Symbol keys: A Charitable Trust stock. - An asterisk next to a stock symbol indicates that Jim mentioned it is a stock that he manages within his charitable trust portfolio.  You can see the complete portfolio of stocks here >> Thumbs up - indicates he would buy the stock or, at the very least, not sell the stock.  We do our best to interpret Jim's opinion on stocks, as we think it is indicated by his comments during the show.  Please read his comments to decide for yourself. Thumbs down - indicates he has said not to buy or to sell the stock, based on his comments  We do our best to interpret Jim's opinion on stocks, as we think it is indicated by his comments during the show.  Please read his comments to decide for yourself. Back up the truck - indicated by Jim, when he says the stock is so good, that he would do a 'mon-back' on the stock... In other words, this is the sound someone would say to a truck driver, "Come on back... " as he is "backing up the truck" to load up on his cargo.  Translation for buying stocks:  This recommendation by Jim indicates that, after you do your own homework on the stock, you should feel comfortable loading up on it, as it is in a good position to be bought at this point. Stumped. - Of the 2,000+ stocks that Jim Cramer has in his head, for which he has an informed opinion, he sometimes comes across a caller with a stock he does not know well enough to opine on...  He then indicates he is stumped and will have to come back to it, after he does some homework of his own on the stock.  This usually occurs during the Lightning Round, when Jim does not know in advance who is calling, or what their stock question is about.
Definitions of key phrases used by Jim, known as "Cramerisms":
	Definition:   'Pull the trigger' is Jim's phrase for making the decision at that point to trade - either to 'buy' or to 'sell' (although he usually uses the phrase for buying), as if to say you should feel comfortable enough to make the final decision without looking back...
	Definition:   'Ring the Register' is Jim's phrase for selling a stock, and making it a final sale, that you should not look back on.  Put it behind you.
	Definition:  'Let It Come In' indicates how you may wait for it to pull back, or have the stock price come down briefly, as your chance (after letting it come in) to buy the rest of your position (i.e., total number of shares you own in that stock).
	Definition:  'backing it up' or 'doing a 'mon-back' is Jim's phrase for the metaphor of backing up a truck to load up on a stock by buying it.  'Mon-back is short for the imaginary worker saying, 'Come on back...' as the truck is backing up to receive its load... Notice that we use the little truck icon to indicate where Jim has mentioned this.  Translation for buying stocks:  This recommendation by Jim indicates that, after you do your own homework on the stock, you should feel comfortable loading up on it, as it is in a good position to be bought at this point.
See more "Cramerisms" & other financial phrases here >>
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