>"Pure play" is a paradox, for one thing -- since very little on Wall Street
>is playful, and nothing there is pure (apologies to Oscar Wilde). At any
>rate, it signifies that the investment opportunity you are presented with is
>a great idea because the company specializes in just one thing. How that is
>supposed to square with another bit of Wall Street wisdom -- that
>diversification is the key to all good things -- is anyone's guess. But
>Wall Streeters are too busy making money to be expected to make any sense.
DIversification is the wisdom of long ago, like the 60s; now it's all about focusing on the fundamental business, defining your "core competencies."
In investment jargon, a "pure play" is a stock (or other security, but it's usually a stock) that's a direct way to take advantage of a trend. The most grotesque use of this phrase I ever saw was on the front page of the NYT's Sunday bizsection in the run-up to the Gulf War. It suggested that the stock of a wheelchair maker was a "pure play" on the conflict.
Doug