Lehman ups PeopleSoft to outperform

NEW YORK: Lehman Brothers said on Thursday it raised PeopleSoft Inc. to

outperform from neutral. The company said the firm's sources in the PeopleSoft

implementation business are suggesting that they are becoming increasingly busy,

which implies that business is improving.

PeopleSoft executives are increasingly upbeat, hiring aggressively and

indicating that the pipeline of business is improving. Lehman also believes that

the forthcoming release of PeopleSoft's Web-based applications has the potential

to excite Wall Street. As SAP AG, JD Edwards & Co. and Baan NV are

experiencing tremendous challenges in the market, it has opened up an

opportunity for PeopleSoft to gain market share in the US.

A Lehman source also said that it raised its target price for PeopleSoft to

$23 a share from $20 a share.

(C) Reuters Limited 2000.