Just noticed RNTK and TMEXmentioned in this Dow Jones story from December 11
Filenet Corp.
Dow Jones Newswires -- December 11, 1998
FileNet Up 12%;Analyst Cites Web Stk-Picker's
Comments>FILE
By Scott Eden
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--FileNet Corp. (FILE) shares climbed as much as 17% Friday, their
second double-digit rise in as many days, after Internet stock-picker Joe Park, who runs a Web site
and posts messages on investment chat boards under the moniker TokyoMex, touted the company
over the Web, Standard & Poor's Equity Group analyst Scott Kessler said.
A message on the Internet stock chat site Silicon Investor, posted by Park at around 11:45 a.m.
Friday, appeared to peg a price target on FileNet stock. The message cryptically reads: "Stay on top
of FILE, my expectations on this is now to mid teens."
As reported in The Wall Street Journal in November, Park commands a large following of fellow
cyber-traders who buy into stocks en masse on his recommendation. After driving share prices
higher, these traders unload their positions for quick profits.
According to Kessler, Park's disciples form a big enough group to lift stock prices merely by heeding
his suggestions, an aggressive momentum strategy critics call less euphemistically a classic
"pump-and-dump" tactic. The strategy has recently come under scrutiny by the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Past companies whose stocks have been affected by Park and his legions include Rentech Inc.
(RNTK) and Iomega Corp. (IOM).
FileNet shares recently traded at 10 3/8 - down from an intraday high of 11 1/4, but still up 3/4, or
7.8% - on Nasdaq volume of 3.5 million, compared with a daily average of 1.2 million.
Given the stock's heavy volume, beginning Thursday when 1.5 million shares changed hands, Kessler
said he believes Park posted a buy recommendation on his proprietary Web site, Tokyo Joe's
Societe Anonyme, sometime Thursday. Only members of the site see those notes, paying about $500
a year for the advice. FileNet shares rose 7/8, or 10%, to 9 5/8 Thursday.
Company spokeswoman Lynda Orban said no news from the company could explain the two days
of upward movement. She noted only that the company issued three announcements Monday dealing
with a new board member, the testing of one of its software products and its deployment with several
public agencies.
The spokeswoman said she wasn't aware of Park's Internet activity.
- Scott Eden; 201-938-5173 |
