24 Mar 14:47
By Rick Jurgens
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--GoTo.com Inc. (GOTO) shares were up more than 26%
after the company reported an increase in advertiser and consumer use of its
Internet search engine and three analysts issued favorable notes.
The stock recently traded at 45 5/8, up 9 1/2, or 26.3%, on volume of 4.1
million shares, compared with a daily average of 612,600.
Company officials were not immediately available for comment. In a press
release issued before the start of Friday's trading, GoTo.com said that in March
it had "expanded its marketplace to include over 25,000 active, paying
advertisers and over 20 million unique monthly users." The company said it had
21,000 advertisers at the end of 1999 but did not cite a figure for unique
monthly users for that time.
Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Matthew Fencik said the numbers reported by
GoTo.com showed that its "underlying fundamentals are still pretty strong."
The Pasadena, Calif., company operates an Internet search engine through which
advertisers bid for placements in responses to consumers' queries about products
and services.
Since going public on June 18, GoTo.com has traded between 20 3/8, a low
reached June 22, and 114 1/2, a high reached Nov. 15.
In a note issued Thursday, U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy
said the company's first-quarter traffic and advertiser activity had exceeded
expectations. He said GoTo.com has "potential for a strong upside" over his
estimates of first-quarter revenue of $14.1 million and a loss of 32 cents a
share.
Analyst Jamie Kiggen at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. issued a
similar note Wednesday, and Lanny Baker at Salomon Smith Barney followed suit on
Thursday. None of them changed earnings estimates and all reiterated previous
ratings, which ranged from buy to strong buy.
- Rick Jurgens; Dow Jones Newswires; 650-496-1367;
richard.jurgens@dowjones.com
|
