Earthwebbies. There is a "techie" internet stock with a "down to earth" valuation. Programmers Paradise (PROG) is a software reseller to the information technology professional. Several distribution channels, the biggest is catalogue, but they are also transitioning to the internet ($5 million in internet sales in '98), internet sales should at least double in 1999 (they quadrupled in '98).
Some comparisons between PROG and EWBX:
1998 sales, EWBX $3.3 million, PROG $234 million
1998 profits, EWBX ($9 million), PROG $3 million
Price to Sales Ratio, EWBX 74.88, PROG .23
Price to Book Ratio, EWBX 53.24, PROG 1.45
Market Cap, EWBX $359 million, PROG $49 million
To sum up, PROG has approximately 70X EWBX sales, earns a decent profit vs. a loss, has internet sales of 9X EWBX, but is valued at less than 1/7th of EWBX's market cap.
The difference is that EWBX is a "pure" internet play and therefore, receives an outrageous market cap. along with other pure internet plays. Whereas, PROG is a stodgy catalogue retailer who earns a profit, and therefore is not sexy.
However, PROG may be setting up to sell or spin off its internet business (9X EWBX sales), according to this story. biz.yahoo.com
As another recent story described, PROG is a value stock with an internet call option. iionline.com |
