Motorola gives stock appology
  07/31/2001 9:30:53 PM MDT Albuquerque, Nm
  By Dustin D. Brand; Owner AMO

Motorola CEO gives appology for stock price and promises new "hot" products.   Motorola, once the biggest pager maker in the world, and now a struggling mobile phone maker apploigizes for its weak stock price.

  Chairman and Chief Executive Christopher Galvin acknowledged to several hundred analysts and portfolio managers at the company's annual analyst meeting there has been a lack of growth in Motorola's stock price for the last three to five years.

  "We understand clearly that the issue has been largely us and the changes that have to take place, have to take place within Motorola," he said. "In our opinion, they are now."

  The stock, which closed down 34 cents at $18.69 in Tuesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, has recovered some since falling to $11.50 in April, when it was 80 percent down from a March 2000 high of $59.10. It has underperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 index by about 32 percent over the past year.

  Some analysts heard the same old story: "They said the same thing as they did last year. It's Groundhog Day," said Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown analyst Brian Modoff.