Microforum Up 36% On Speech, Strong Razorfish IPO
By Grant Ellis
TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Microforum Inc.'s (T.MCF) stock has jumped 36% Wednesday, after a presentation to e-commerce specialists and also due to the high-flying performance of Razorfish Inc. (RAZF), Howard Pearl, Microforum's president and chief executive, told Dow Jones.
In Toronto trading Wednesday, the stock is up 1.85 to 6.80 on about 9 million shares. The stock hit a 52-week high of 7.20 Wednesday. Razorfish, which priced its initial public offering Tuesday at US$16, is now trading at about 52 on Nasdaq.
Microforum has many similarities to Razorfish, with comparable revenues and services. Both companies are Internet applications service providers that specialize in e-commerce.
Pearl said Razorfish has become the latest Internet stock to shoot upward and, with the similarities between the two companies, "people don't want to miss out on the next big thing."
"They're looking at the success of Razorfish and they look at us and say 'this is a company that's undervalued,' " he said.
Pearl, who spoke with Dow Jones immediately after giving his second presentation in two days at the Internet and Electronic Commerce Exposition in New York, said he believes that his presentations have also helped the stock's rise. Pearl discussed what he called the "10 golden rules of how to build an e-commerce site" at the presentation, with an audience consisting mainly of e-commerce specialists.
David Wong, an analyst for Canaccord Capital Corp., told Dow Jones that he felt the conference was a major reason for the stock's rise. "They're getting the story out in the States," said Wong. "People see it as cheap next to its comparables." |
