Netzero will be taking a bite out of AOL.
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Internet stocks came under pressure Thursday after an influential sector analyst gave a negative June subscriber growth outlook for America Online, sinking shares of the bellwether stock.
Today on CBS MarketWatch
Bond yields up, stocks down
Net stocks sink
Paul Allen moves onto the Island
Europe, London down after rate cut
StockWatch: Kids + e-commerce = cash
More top stories...
CBS MarketWatch Columns
Updated:
6/10/99 1:13:08 PM ET
AOL (AOL: news, msgs) fell 4 3/4 to 106 1/4, up from its morning low of 101. Merrill Lynch Internet analyst Blodget told clients Thursday morning he expected subscriber growth for June to come in at "the low end of guidance range, which was 750,000-850,000."
Moreover, Blodget noted that "international subscriber growth is significantly weaker than expected, perhaps partially as a result of the "free access" movement in the U.K." He didn't change his revenue or earnings per share estimates, adding that "we do not see any major catalysts for AOL's stock until the fall."
Among other Internet leaders: Yahoo (YHOO: news, msgs) was off 3 11/16 to 142 11/16; Amazon.com was down 2 3/8 to 111 5/8 and EBay (EBAY: news, msgs) dropped 5 to 178.
The Amex Internet Index slipped 2 percent, erasing Wednesday's gains. The Goldman Sachs Internet Index was down 2.4 percent.
Yet some fund managers took the sell off in the Net stocks in stride on Thursday.
"These are good times to get in," said Cern Basher who manages $1 billion fund for Provident Investment Advisors. "I couldn't care less what they do over the next two months," he said referring to the typical summer slowdown for Internet stocks. "We continue to buy them."
|
