Price Cut Expected : Commodore Stock Declines

Stock in Commodore International Ltd. fell Wednesday in heavy trading after sources in computer industry trade publications speculated that the company will have to lower the price of its popular Commodore 64 to meet competition from Atari Corp.’s 64XE, which was introduced last weekend at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The stock fell $0.75 to $15.625, with 918,100 shares trading hands.

Market sources said the trade press speculated that Commodore might cut the price of its most popular computer from $189 to $150 to $160.

The Atari product is priced at $120.

Commodore officials could not be reached for comment.

Atari Chairman Jack Tramiel, who demonstrated the new machine in Las Vegas, was formerly president and chief executive of Commodore.