ING Barings rates AOL a "Buy" and NZRO a "Hold", noting that NZRO's business model is "unproven."
biz.yahoo.com
Tuesday November 16, 11:33 am Eastern Time
RESEARCH ALERT - ING Barings starts ISP companies
CHICAGO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - ING Barings analyst Youssef Squali on Tuesday started coverage of Internet service providers including Verio Inc. (NasdaqNM:VRIO - news), America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news), Prodigy Communications Corp. (NasdaqNM:PRGY - news), and NetZero Inc. (NasdaqNM:NZRO - news).
-- In a research note, Squali said he started Englewood, Colo.-based Verio, the nation's largest provider of Internet connectivity to small and medium sized enterprises, with a strong buy. He also set a 12-month price target for the company's shares of $53 per share.
-- Shares of Verio rose 15/16 to 41-7/16 in morning trade on Nasdaq.
-- Squali started Dulles, Va.-based America Online, the world's largest Internet service provider, with a buy and a 12-month price target of $180 to $185 per share.
-- Shares of America Online rose 3-3/16 to 151-15/16 on the New York Stock Exchange.
-- Squali started White Plains, N.Y.-based Prodigy with a buy and a 12-month price target of $28 to $30 per share. He also added that the company is likely to make more acquisitions of second tier Internet service providers at attractive valuations as segmentation and consolidation sweeps the industry.
-- Shares of Prodigy were off 1/16 at 22-13/16 on Nasdaq.
-- Squali started Westlake Village, Calif.-based NetZero, which offers users free Internet access in exchange for viewing advertisements, with a hold. He said NetZero's leadership position in the industry bodes well as the niche segment grows, but said the business model remains unproven.
-- Squali also said he believes the company's stock is fairly valued at current levels. Shares of NetZero rose 5/16 at 24-13/16 on Nasdaq. |
