Rande:
Good to hear from you.
One correction on your nano stocks:
'Nano' in Firm's Name Fuels Stock's Gain
Wednesday December 3, 5:44 pm ET
By Daniel Sorid
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A growing fascination with nanotechnology seems to be doing wonders for the stock price of Nanometrics Inc.
Too bad the company's only connection with the hot field of molecular-scale machinery is the first four letters of its name and a stock ticker, NANO. But that, apparently, is enough to confuse some investors.
It has been a remarkable few days on the stock market for the Milpitas, California-based Nanometrics (NasdaqNM:NANO - News), whose true identity is perhaps more mundane than its name would suggest: it makes tools that measure the thickness of films deposited on silicon wafers.
Yet despite a dearth of news, press releases, or any other obvious market-moving information on the company, shares of NANO rose as much as 10 percent on Wednesday before retreating to a 5 percent gain to close at $16.06 on the Nasdaq exchange.
The stock moved in tandem during the day with Nanogen Inc. (NasdaqNM:NGEN - News) , which soared 52 percent on news it had won a U.S. nanotechnology patent, to close up $1.95 at $5.74, also on Nasdaq.
Nanometrics may also be getting a lift from a renewed interest in nanotechnology as a $3.7 billion bill promoting research into molecular-scale machinery and materials heads to President Bush for his signature.
On Wednesday, over 1.6 million shares of Nanometrics stock changed hands, far above their average volume of 300,000.
Nanometrics shares now trade at $16 on Nasdaq, up one-third from their $12 price around the end of November.
Gerald Fleming, an analyst with Oppenheimer who covers Nanometrics stock, said he received eight to 10 calls on Wednesday from brokers who thought the company had something to do with nanotechnology.
"The company's been around for 25 years, well before nanotechnology was even though of, and it's strictly a coincidence," Fleming said.
Fleming said it's very possible that some investors on Wednesday bought NANO shares when they meant to buy Nanogen Inc.
Even the company is startled.
"It's kind of puzzling," said Peter Gise, the senior marketing manager for Nanometrics, when asked about the volatility of the company's shares.
Gise said he has received calls from confused investors, but that those calls have fallen in frequency in recent months. Instead, he said he believes investors simply have become more bullish on demand for thin-film measurement tools.
Nano is a minuscule measurement. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Similarly, a nanogram is one billionth of a gram.
If Nanometrics is indeed getting a mistaken boost due to its ticker symbol or the first four letters of its name, it wouldn't be the first time investors confused similar-sounding company names.
Last week, Michigan-based broadcaster Saga Communications Inc. (AMEX:SGA - News) shares jumped 5 percent before it asked the American Stock Exchange to halt trading in its shares.
As it turned out, the Wall Street Journal had written a report referencing a possible sale of British travel company Saga Group Ltd., to which Saga Communications has no relation. |
