By Bloomberg News
Special to CNET News.com
November 24, 1998, 5:00 p.m. PT
Shares of companies selling goods on the Internet soared on optimism that sales will surge as more people do their holiday shopping online.
Online software merchant Egghead.com rose 4.38 to $18. 25 in trading of 29.6 million shares, making it the most active stock in U.S. markets. Egghead rival Cyberian Outpost soared 12.625 to 37.625. Internet auctioneer Onsale rose 14.875 to 43.875, while eBay rose 3.8125 to 196.8125. Creative Computers, which sells computers over the Internet, rose 2 to 34.25. Leading Internet retailer Amazon.com fell 3.50 to 214.50.
Online retailers have been beefing up their product offerings for the holidays, and several market researchers have completed studies forecasting the rapid growth of online shopping, spurring optimism among investors.
"There's a belief in the huge potential for the Internet to be a major player in retail and commerce, and everyone's getting on the bandwagon,'' said Randall Roth, an analyst with Renaissance Capital.
Some investors are showing "misplaced optimism,'' Roth said, considering that many Internet retailers, including leading book and music merchant Amazon.com, have yet to make a profit. "It's a speculative feeding frenzy,'' Roth said.
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