Briefing agrees.......
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13:35 ET******
NETWORK SOLUTIONS (NSOL) 113 13/16 -1 11/16 What is the world coming to? Ten years ago, press releases had little effect on stocks, except for big announcements like mergers. Today, press releases routinely move prices, especially for internet stocks. But now, we are getting into press release arguments. Today, Asensio & Co. issued a press release claiming that a Prudential Securities upgrade yesterday is "misleading." The headline even states the report is "False." We haven't studied NSOL enough to really make an evaluation of what the loosening of NSOL's monopoly on domain name registration really means. Certainly the loosening is coming. But whether it really hurts NSOL or not remains to be seen. And whether that risk is already built into the stock needs to be looked at. We haven't done any of that, at this point. But Asensio's press release is really a sign of the times. Much of the battle, especially over internet stocks, is conceptual. There is a battle of attitudes for many stocks, with strong believers fighting doubters. Asensio is primarily a short seller and has a "Strong Sell" and "Short Sell" recommendation on NSOL. With value so loosely based on conceptual feelings about the future, it is no surprise that Asensio would attempt to influence public opinion, knowing that the press release will show up under any search for NSOL news today, on any site on the internet. Sure, upgrades are also attempts to influence the public. But Wall Street has traditionally been very tactful of negative sentiments. The large sell-side houses never even include "SELL" in their ratings system. HOLD is as close as any gets. But times are changing, and negative ratings on stocks from all kinds of people are likely to increase. But, frankly, this press release reads more like a chat room entry than a serious press release. Here's a sample "For Prudential to claim that ICANN accredited registrars will be subject to NSOL regulation is entirely absurd." We don't know who's right on this issue, because we haven't done the research on this situation. But what's next? A press release headline from someone that says "Anybody who buys XYZ stock is a Moron!" It is only the latest example of how the world of investing is changing.
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