VERT follow through........Goldman Sachs analyst Jamie
Friedman said Galli's addition should
be seen as bolstering VerticalNet
management's strength. He noted that
Hagan, the COO, moved into the
background to let others run the
company as it grew.
"In the war for talent, this is a huge
win," Friedman said. "Joe brings with
him the ability to meet the structural
challenges of managing a company with
600 plus employees and multiple lines
of business."
Friedman said Goldman will host a
meeting on Friday with Walsh and Galli
at New York's Harvard Club.
Friedman placed VerticalNet on
Goldman's recommended list last
week, the firm's highest rating.
Goldman has not performed
underwriting for the company.
Investors, at least, didn't immediately
see the switch at the top of VerticalNet
one day before it announced earnings
as a negative. The stock was up 1 13/16, or 3 percent, to 58 9/16 in
afternoon trading.
Chatter about the impending resignation first emerged early in the
morning, apparently based on a call that Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette
analyst Jamie Kiggen gave to his firm's sales force. Kiggen was
unavailable for comment, but a spokewoman at the firm did confirm that
he "did go out with a call on that this morning regarding this issue."
"That cushions the blow," said Dan Ries, e-commerce analyst at C.E.
Unterberg Towbin, of the move to VerticalNet. It suggests that Galli had
an economic incentive for leaving. It's far worse when an executive leaves
for "personal reasons" -- which the Street has come to recognize as code
for when a troubled company gives someone the boot. Ries rates
Amazon a buy. His firm has done no underwriting for the company. |
