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Technology Stocks : Jimbo's Playhouse/CPQ -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: robbie who wrote (3857)	8/27/1999 10:31:00 AM
From: Jimbo Cobb	Respond to of 12662

Robbie...I put my ST-BK $$$$ in VOCL recently for the IDTC/NTOP sympathy play....Wall Street heard Jimbo was in and started running it up yesterday....IDTC at $25 now looks like a screaming bargain unless NTOP implodes...Jimbo. Net2Phone/VocalTec -2: Sprint Pact Seen Validating Tech (DOW JONES NEWSWIRE) By MARCELO PRINCE NEW YORK -- Internet telephony stocks continued to soar as news of Sprint Corp.'s (FON) decision to test Net2Phone Inc. (NTOP) technology piqued investors' interest in the sector, analysts said. On Wednesday, Sprint said it would begin a trial of Net2Phone's voice-over-Internet protocol service for long-distance calls to Asia. Although financial terms weren't disclosed, the Sprint pact and Net2Phone's other partnerships, including a distribution pact with Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) unveiled Tuesday, are seen as a validation of Internet telephony, analysts said. "A major carrier announcing they will conduct a trial of the products is one of the triggers that people in the (Internet protocol) telephony business had been waiting for," said Josephthal & Co. analyst Robert Goldman. Net2Phone shares, which soared 32% Wednesday, continued their ascent Thursday. Earlier they rose as high as 89 1/2, past their previous ceiling of 72 17/64 set Wednesday. The stock recently changed hands at 77, up 6 7/8 or 9.8%, on volume of 11.3 million shares. Average daily volume is 3.5 million. Net2Phone officials weren't immediately available. Bear Stearns & Co. analyst Robert Fagin said the Sprint deal also shows there are significant hurdles to overcome to enter the Web telephony business. VocalTec Communications Ltd. (VOCL), an Israeli company that makes software that permits Internet telephony, also posted solid gains Thursday in a move analysts attributed to Net2Phone's rise. VocalTec officials weren't available to comment. After reaching 11 1/2 earlier, VocalTec shares recently traded at 10 1/8, up 15/16, or 10.2%, on volume of 719,200, compared with a daily average of 96,900. Josephthal analyst Goldman said VocalTec shares could also be moving because of the company's 20% stake in ITXC Corp., a startup Princeton, N.J., Internet telephony service provider. ITXC, which filed on August 11 for an initial public offering, would compete directly with Net2Phone in the phone-to-phone Internet telephony market. VocalTec's current business focuses on making software that is primarily used in computer-to-computer connections, analysts said. "If Net2Phone continues its success and there is continued appetite for the company, ITXC's offering could be successful," Goldman said. Analysts also said the Internet telephony stocks might be higher on renewed speculation that Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) would acquire such a company. Earlier Thursday, Cisco said it was buying two privately held networking concerns for a combined $7.4 billion in stock, marking its 39th and 40th acquisitions. Rumors that Cisco is interested in acquiring an Internet telephony concern have long circulated, analysts said, with VocalTec often named as a potential target. Cisco officials weren't immediately available to comment. "Certainly for whatever reason, from time to time, VocalTec has been talked about as a potential Cisco acquisition," said Cruttenden Roth analyst Glenn Powers. Accordingly, Powers said Cisco's shopping spree Thursday might have filtered some M&A speculation into trading of VocalTec. But the parallels between the Israeli Internet telephony company and the two networking firms Cisco targeted "are pretty tenuous," Powers said. Other analysts agreed, saying that although Cisco has been rumored to be on the prowl in the sector, an imminent acquisition is unlikely. -Marcelo Prince; 201-938-5394