Mark, have you bought a car on the internet yet?
zdii.com
Did anyone here get in on this action. It's a MANIA!!!
>AUTOBYTEL COM INC(ABTL)
Bid: 40 3/8 BidSize: 0 Open: 53
Ask: 40 7/16 AskSize: 0 Close: 23
Last: 40 1/4 High: 58 Div.: 0.00
Change: +17 1/4 Low: 39 Yield: 0.00
A.High: 58 P/E: 0.00 Volume: 9002900
A.Low: 39 EPS: 0.00 Market :NASDAQ NM<<
>>AUTOWEB COM INC COM(AWEB)
Bid: 32 1/2 BidSize: 0 Open: 34 1/8
Ask: 32 13/16 AskSize: 0 Close: 33 3/8
Last: 32 3/4 High: 39 Div.: 0.00
Change: -5/8 Low: 31 7/8 Yield: 0.00
A.High: 50 P/E: 0.00 Volume: 2716500
A.Low: 19 5/8 EPS: 0.00 Market :NASDAQ NM<<
>>
Irvine, California, March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Autobytel.com Inc., which operates a Web site for buying new and used vehicles, rose 75 percent in its first day of trading following an initial stock sale.
The Irvine, California-based company rose 17 1/4 to 40 1/4. Almost 9 million shares changed hands on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The four-year old company ended the day with a market value of $718.8 million. Investors who purchased at the opening price of 52 3/4 and didn't sell had paper losses of 24 percent by the end of the day.
Autobytel is getting a boost from its well-known brand name and from a strong showing by rival Autoweb's successful introduction to the market earlier this week, analysts said.
Autobytel ''is considered to be the cornerstone of automotive web sites,'' said David Menlow, president of IPO Financial Network.
Santa Clara, California-based Autoweb almost tripled when it began trading on Tuesday, though it has fallen 18 percent since then. Autobytel's principal underwriter, BT Alex. Brown Inc., raised the company's expected range that day to $20 to $22 from $16 to $18.
Yesterday, Autobytel and existing shareholders sold 4.5 million shares at $23 each, raising $103.5 million. That was $1 above the $20 to $22 range set by underwriter BT Alex. Brown. The sale represented a 25 percent stake.
The Site
Autobytel operates a Web site that lets consumers get information on cars and light trucks and shop for vehicles from their homes. The Internet services are free to consumers. Autobytel.com makes money from auto dealerships that pay to be part of its referral service. It has a network of 2,700 dealers in North America.
Autobytel lost $19.4 million on revenue of $23.8 million in 1998, compared with a loss of $16.8 million on revenue of $15.3 million the year before.
Autobytel.com tried to go public almost two years ago as Auto-By-Tel Corp., but scrapped its plans in April 1997, citing unfavorable market conditions.
''Had the Internet market not lit its afterburner last November, Autobytel would not have had another chance on the public market now,'' Menlow said.
Autobytel will probably benefit from growing interest in online car shopping, said Chris Denove, director of consulting operations at J.D. Power & Associates, a marketing research firm in Agoura Hills, California.
''Once the word of mouth gets out that online services work, we'll see a growing commitment by dealers to handle purchases over the Internet,'' he said.
Savings
Dan Waterman, a student who lives in Concord, Ohio, paid less than $400 more than the $17,963 invoice for his 1998 Ford F- series pickup that he bought using Autobytel. Other dealers tried to get him to pay $3,500 more than invoice, he said.
Waterman is using Autobytel to buy his mother a 1999 Honda Accord for $170 over invoice. ''I can get the deal I want'' by using an online service, he said.
Auto Web sites provide customers ''the ability to have a much more convenient buying process, to feel as a consumer more in control, and ultimately to save money,'' said Chip Perry, the president and chief executive of AutoConnect.com, which competes with Autobytel and Autoweb. AutoConnect, which provides free classified ads for used cars, had 1 million visitors to is web site in February, from none in May, he said.
Still, ''there's a real misconception about what it means to shop for a car online,'' Denove said.
17:18:13 03/26/1999
|
