George, it looked like PPRO was taking some the same heat applied to CMRC after they reported their 2nd quarter results. Tomorrow will at least be very interesting for PPRO..........
Earnings tsunami overwhelms
After the close: Exodus, PurchasePro, Critical Path report
By Bambi Francisco, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 7:30 PM ET Jul 19, 2000 NewsWatch
Latest headlines
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- With the exception of ZDNet, whose planned acquisition by CNet was announced Wednesday, Net stocks slumped across the board as earnings concerns pulled the market lower after investors bid shares higher last week in anticipation of solid quarters.
"We're seeing a cooling off from last week's run," said Todd Clark, head of listed trading at W.R. Hambrecht.
"The earnings are coming in fine, but after the swings earlier this year investors aren't willing to hold stocks that have appreciated significantly," said Greg Jones, director of research at Briefing.com. "If you get a 30 to 50 percent gain in your portfolio, you might want to take some money off the table before they fall 80 percent."
The Goldman Sachs Internet Index lost 3.6 percent, after falling 2.3 Tuesday. The Amex Internet Index Holdrs gave up 2.1 percent. The Merrill Lynch's Internet Holdrs declined 1.8 percent, while business-to-business Net stocks fell 7.6 percent. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq fell 121 points, or 3 percent, to 4,055.
Ariba vs. Commerce One
Investors, betting that Commerce One would deliver slam-dunk results, were largely disappointed. After running up the stock better than 75 percent last week, some investors bailed out, driving the shares down 17 percent to 55 2/26.
After Tuesday's close, Commerce One (CMRC: news, msgs) reported a narrower-than-expected second-quarter loss of $16.2 million, or 10 cents a share. Revenue shot up 79 percent from the previous quarter to $62.7 million. That's fast growth, but less than the 100 percent growth rate posted by Ariba (ARBA: news, msgs).
Ariba announced results last week. "Both companies are viewed as being in a horse race, and Commerce One didn't deliver when compared to Ariba," said Ian Toll, an analyst at CS First Boston. Watch interview with Ariba chief Keith Krach at the Industry Standard's Internet Summit.
After Wednesday's close
Meanwhile, PurchasePro (PPRO: news, msgs) is showing solid quarter-over-quarter revenue growth. After the close, the provider of e-commerce solutions for small to medium sized business, reported a loss of $7.1 million, or 22 cents per share, compared to a loss of $8.3 million in the previous quarter. Quarterly revenue grew to $9.5 million, up 109 percent from the previous quarter, while quarterly expense rose by 25 percent. "This shows that we're moving faster to profitability," PurchasePro CEO Charles Johnson told CBS MarketWatch. He said the company should be profitable by the second quarter of 2001 -- two quarters ahead of expectations.
PurchasePro fell 11 1/4, or 15 percent, to 42 1/2 during Wednesday's trading action. Shares were unchanged in after hours trading. "They're addressing a profitable niche where there's not nearly as much competition as in the Fortune 1000 market," said Toll, who said he's likely to raise his numbers following the report.
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