Here is Jim Cramer, pumping a bunch of tech stocks on 2000-02-29, just weeks before the NASDAQ topped. Here is a quote to take you back to those days:
It is no secret that the Dow, made up principally of companies that can't raise the bar, is down 12% while the Nasdaq, which is made up of companies that can raise the bar, is up 12%. And in the self-fulfilling jungle that is Wall Street, only growth can maintain growth!
So where are they now? Three still trade on the NASDAQ, two are on the pink sheets, and five don't trade with these symbols -- probably out of business. ARBA trades for about 1% of its bubble-high of $1500, INSP is at 0.5% of its high of over $1500, and VRSN trades for about 10% of its high of $300.
What about the Old Economy stocks he singles out to diss? Freeport-McMoRan acquired Phelps Dodge in 2007 for $25.9 billion in cash and stock, so I'm just going to guess that that's a positive return. Just by eyeballing the other charts, I'd say that these are the returns over the same period:
- MRK -50%
- PFE -75%
- X +150%
- UNP +200%
On balance, I think you'd have to be ahead with the Old Economy picks that Cramer sneered at.
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