Growth with a touch of value.

Charles Jordan of Jordan Advisory Group takes stock in the big plays

Charles N. Jordan Jr. likes to think big. In fact, the 19-year veteran selected his five large-cap stock picks from what he believes are the "56 good ones out there."

Jordan, 52, is president and CEO of Jordan

In this Private Screening, Jordan derived his picks from growth companies with more than $1 billion in capitalization. He uses a computer model to establish GARP, or growth at a reasonable price to make stock picks. He maintains: "GARP is a way of identifying those stocks that have value-like characteristics, that is, they're undervalued, but eventually, they graduate to a growth stock."

One of Jordan's top picks is Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO). He favors the technology bellwether because its earnings usually exceed analysts' projections. Its revenues rose 55% for the company, for the fiscal year ending July 29.

His next selection is PE Biosystems Corp.-PE Biosystems Group (NYSE: PEB). Formerly Perkin-Elmer, the company was recapitalized when it sold its analytical instruments business, split into two public companies, and focused on biosystems products. Revenues are expected to jump 20% in 2001 to $1.7 billion with a strong focus on their DNA analyzer and other new gene-expression products. Says Jordan: "The stodgy Connecticut-based company generically got into a lot of high-tech products and I think it could be a dominant player." Most recently, their stock price jumped from $83 to $101, a 21.68% jump from May to July.

Despite its current woes, Jordan still likes Intel (Nasdaq: INTC). In recent months, the chipmaker has taken a hit, but in the first quarter, revenues rose 13% to $7.99 billion. Jordan believes management will "involve itself with more strategic acquisitions," within the semiconductor sector as well as "prune down some of its nonprofitable product line."

Another company that has switched sectors is Citigroup (NYSE: C). A classic banking stock it dropped below $50 in March, but has made a significant rebound. In early August, the stock traded at $71 per share. "This company has gone through the transition of melding several different corporate cultures," Jordan says. "It looks as though the Traveler's [Group]/Smith Barney culture has prevailed." Jordan estimates that this stock will hit $80 over the next year.

Finally, Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW), the telecommunications and information display corporation, has done a complete about-face, and is positioned to soar. "What a story! You've gone from pots and pans to a high-tech company," he says. Most notably, Jordan sees the potential for a stock split soon, to bring its August 10 price of $272 a share back down to Earth.

Jordan continues to hold large cappers for the long haul. In fact, General Electric (NYSE: GE) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS), so-called Old Economy players with staying power, will remain perched on the top of his list. Does the rest of the large-cap growth industry hold the same attraction? We'll find out when we take a peak at Jordan's other 49 gems.

Bullish on the Big Boys

                                 12-Month      P/E on
Company                           Price       Projected
Exchange: Symbol      Price(*)    Target    2000 Earnings

Cisco Systems         $63.38      $75.00        119.1
Nasdaq: CSCO

PE Biosystems Corp.    91.98      105.00        108.7
NYSE: PEB

Intel                  62.00       80.00         47.6
NYSE: INTC

Citigroup              71.19       80.00         21.6
NYSE: C

Coming                272.63      110.00        104.6
Nasdaq: GLW

                      Est. 5-Yr.
Company               Annual EPS
Exchange: Symbol        Growth     Why stock Will Outperfrom

Cisco Systems           32.27%     * Earning have exceeded their
Nasdaq: CSCO                         numbers and they have a good
                                     product mix

PE Biosystems Corp.     23.16      * Company with a good strategic
NYSE: PEB                            niche in the high-tech sector.
                                     Been able to reinvent itself
                                     within a couple or years

Intel                   21.11      * Despite woes, chipmaker is
NYSE: INTC                           positioned to make a come-back.
                                     Management is top-notch

Citigroup               14.72      * Financial services group has
NYSE: C                              been able to meld several
                                     corporate cultures into a
                                     successful entity

Coming                  27.75      * A dynamic company that went
Nasdaq: GLW                          from pots and pans to high tech
                                     with much success in a short
                                     time

(*) Closing price as of 8/7/00

Source: Charles Jordan, Jordan Advisory Corp; Zacks Investment Research