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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (76688)	9/6/1999 1:58:00 AM
From: KeepItSimple	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 164684

>The cost was far in excess of the money Jimmy Wright made. You know, if Jimmy was a "loyal" Wal Mart employee, he may have lead AMZN down the wrong road on purpose, then cashed out his options and left town. Now _that_ would be the ultimate revenge.. :)

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (76688)	9/6/1999 2:00:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

IPO VIEW-Investors to judge IPOs more critically By Reshma Kapadia NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Investors are expected to turn a more critical eye toward new issues, examining business models more carefully, as the summer doldrums come to an end and the initial public offering market comes back to life. "I think a lot of the initial assumptions of what made (a company) attractive, such as branding and first mover advantage, will come under scrutiny," said Steve Andriole, Chief Technology Officer at Internet venture firm Safeguard Scientifics Inc <SFE.N>. "There will be a return back to financial fundamentals. The idea that a company is going to lose money for the next 3 to 5 years will not be accepted anymore. Investors will put a very bright light on the viability of the business model itself." The companies that braved the volatile summer market and managed to not only debut successfully but also hold onto a sizable chunk of their after-market gains are representative of what kind of deal will attract investors. The success of networking firm Juniper Networks Inc. <JNPR.O> and business-to-business software provider Ariba Inc. <ARBA.O>, both of which launched IPOs in late June, bodes well for deals from those sectors, which have exponential room to grow, analysts said. Juniper shares are up about 475 percent from its $34 per share IPO pricing and Ariba shares are up about 500 percent from its $23 per share IPO. "I think the business-to-business firm trend is definitely still there. I wouldn't be surprised if investment bankers rush business-to-business companies to market," said Tom Taulli, an analyst at Internet.com. One of the most-promising deals on the IPO calendar is Sycamore Networks, which develops optical networking product that eases data traffic congestion, analysts said. A date has yet to be set for the offering, which hopes to raise $115 million through lead underwriter Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The popularity of networking firms was demonstrated last week when optical networking firm Cerent Corp. canceled its plans for an $100 million IPO after it was bought by Cisco Systems Inc. <CSCO.O>. "This entire Juniper (phenomenon) is taking networking into orbit and people are taking their wallets out and spending unbelievable amounts as a preemptive strike," Taulli said, adding that the market could see more deals like Cerent's as large companies look to buy out potential competition. The allure of infrastructure and networking firms lies in their growth potential and their business models. "Infrastructure is built for voice and it costs so much to convert it (for data) so there is a need for technology to enhance current infrastructure and (firms) are willing to pay a lot of money for it," Taulli said. "Similarly, the amount of traffic going through on the Web is only going to explode, so these carriers need technology." Another hot area, following software firm Red Hat's success, will be other Linux-related firms. Linux is a version of the UNIX operating system that competes with Microsoft Corp.'s <MSFT.O> Windows NT in some areas. San Francisco-based Linuxcare Inc. and VA Linux Systems Inc. file to go public sometime this year, analysts said. Linuxcare, which provides services for Linux software users, said in May it received its first round of financing led by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byer. VA Linux Systems Inc. received a second round of financing in June totaling $25 million from investors including SGI, Intel Corp. <INTC.O> and Sequoia Capital. Another group of upcoming deals that may draw attention are spin-offs from brick and mortar firms, including a possible offering from upscale retailer Nordstrom Inc.'s <JWN.N> recently-formed Nordstrom.com unit. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.'s upcoming IPO could also generate interest, analysts said. While recent pure Internet play IPOs have not fared as well as their predecessor...