Monday March 20, 12:30 pm Eastern Time "from yahoo"
Shares of Netpliance (NASDAQ: NPLI - news) fell $4.06 to $18 on news that the company's flagship product, the $199 i-opener Internet computer, can be made into a full-fledged PC with about $100 worth of modifications. The problem is that the company subsidizes the cost of the computer in the hopes that users will sign up for its Internet service, which costs $21.95 a month. But ever since a hobbyist posted modifications plans on a techie Web site a few days ago, the devices have been flying off the shelves of Circuit City, (NYSE: CC - news), Nepliance's sole retailer, and many of the buyers are hobbyists with no plans to sign up for the Internet Service.
Last week the company raised $144 million in an initial public offering, selling 8 million shares priced at $18.
Circuit City rose $0.06 to $48.25.
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"CBS MarketWatch"
Netpliance (NPLI: news, msgs), meanwhile, was down 4 1/16 at 18, matching its IPO pricing level, meaning that rank-and-file investors Monday had access to the stock at the same price as fund managers and other big-money traders got Friday, when the stock closed at 22 1/16. The stock had opened for trading at 24 3/4.
The Austin, Texas, company sells devices that tap into the Internet, but it's positioning itself as a service provider across multiple platforms such as hand-held computers and wireless phones.
"We're not a hardware company; we're all about the service and the portal," said CEO Kent Savage. |
