>I saw a post from Ike about Nasdaq going to 600, well that proved it was time to buy.
Glenn, I think the smart money knew it was Naz selling time Jan 1st 2000.
For every Arba there's 100 that's been trashed.
Btw
Glenn, I sincerely hope everyone on this thread got out of Vert. It looks like poor Joe walked from one fire into the next.;-)
>
NEW YORK, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Shares of VerticalNet Inc.<VERT.O>, operator of business-to-business online commerce centers, fell nearly 24 percent after a research firm said a survey showed some of VerticalNet's largest customers are dissatisfied.
The firm, Wedbush Morgan Securities, also slashed its 12-month target on Horsham, Pa.-based VerticalNet to $30 from $50 a share and reiterated its hold rating on the shares.
The stock closed down $6-13/16 to $21-3/4 on Nasdaq.
"We believe the root of customers' dissatisfaction comes from the light traffic to VerticalNet's communities," analyst George Santana wrote in the report based on a phone survey of the largest customers of VerticalNet's 247 electronic commerce centers. "VerticalNets' Web sites work only if the communities receive a large number of unique visitors. Unfortunately, the traffic is very light, or as one customer told us: 'Traffic...What traffic?' "
The problem will be compounded when VerticalNet is flooded with new storefronts the company will offer for free under a deal with Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O>, which also has a stake in VerticalNet.
Santana concluded that based on the light traffic and poor return on investment, most storefront customers will decide not to renew. The electronic storefronts group together to form the commerce site. The research firm said it now believes that only 50 percent of those who received the new storefronts for free will decide to renew, down from the firm's previous expectation of 75 percent.
Others have not seen the return on the investment they spend on the centers. VerticalNet's largest e-commerce center customer Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. <MMM.N> has, during the past eight months, generated sales equal to only 10 percent of its investment according to Santana.
Internet Capital Group Inc. <ICGE.O>, which owns about a third of VerticalNet, closed down about 9 percent to $11-7/32. During the day, Internet Capital Group hit a new 52-week low of $10-3/16, a far cry from its 52-week high of $212.
VerticalNet declined to comment except to say that it has scheduled a conference call after the close of the market on Friday.
16:39 10-06-00 |
