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Technology Stocks : CMDX - Chemdex, another CMGI gem -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jay silberman who wrote (103)	9/17/1999 11:17:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 200

thestreet.com. Move Over Y2K, B2B Is Here (CMDX reference) COMMENTARY >> SILICONSTREET.COM By Adam Lashinsky Silicon Valley Columnist 9/17/99 7:00 AM ET Business-to-business e-commerce now officially is the Next Big Thing. Why? Because Goldman Sachs says so in a report it issued Thursday. 'Nuff said. Pay attention, though, to the details beneath the hype. They suggest it also is going to be the Next Big Disruption for tech-stock investors who get caught crosswise of the euphoria. B2B, as the smart set calls it (yes, you're going to hear this every bit as much as Y2K), indeed is going to be big. Goldman's analysts estimate overall B2B industry revenue of $1.5 trillion by 2004. This means that revenue associated with commerce conducted over the Internet between and among businesses, as opposed to consumers, will grow more than 10-fold from an estimated $115 billion this year. A few potential B2B problems bubbled to the surface, however, for those who listened carefully to Goldman's conference call with institutional investors immediately before its teleconference with reporters. See, Goldman wants to hype B2B e-commerce because right now there are precious few publicly traded B2B stocks, a short list that includes Ariba (ARBA:Nasdaq), VerticalNet (VERT:Nasdaq), Commerce One (CMRC:Nasdaq), IntraWare (ITRA:Nasdaq), Internet Capital Group (ICGE:Nasdaq), pcOrder.com (PCOR:Nasdaq), Chemdex (CMDX:Nasdaq) and Healtheon (HLTH:Nasdaq). The combined revenue over the last year of those fledgling companies is just over $200 million, about 3 1/2 days worth of sales for Dell Computer (DELL:Nasdaq). If industry sales really are to explode within five years, there'll be tons of upstarts for Goldman to take public (see below). The catch is that Goldman's hot-shot Internet analyst Rakesh Sood and veteran software guru Richard Sherlund dutifully point out the risks with B2B. For credibility, they must. Presumably, they're also beginning to establish the difference between a Goldman client and everyone else. For one thing, it's a given that scores of inferior B2B companies will try to sneak through the IPO process along with the good ones. Business-to-consumer offerings started as a trickle before the floodgates opened this year. B2B stocks will skip quickly to the overkill stage. "We have to beware of the hype," says Sood. The six-analyst Goldman report is more specific: "Regarding stock recommendations -- we believe that there will be a number of beneficiaries, but fewer long-term winners." Remember that when scrutinizing a specific IPO candidate being brought public by Goldman or one of its competitors. Sood also touches indirectly on one of the fundamental problems of B2B: Automating slim-margined businesses creates automated slim-margined businesses -- not instant technology companies. He speaks of B2B companies having a "revenue blend." Translation: Many B2B companies won't be particularly profitable on most of what they do, even if they are extraordinarily profitable in some part of the business. Sherlund is more specific. He notes, with envy, that the best of the companies Sood follows typically trade at 20 or 30 times their revenue. In contrast, Sherlund's top picks fetch a meager 50 to 60 times earnings. As established enterprise software companies like Oracle (ORCL:Nasdaq) and SAP (SAP:NYSE) gun for Internet-type valuations, they'll have to tear up their business models and start from scratch. And that, says Sherlund, will make for a difficult transition for many. He predicts more older companies will consider issuing tracking stocks for their B2B efforts and that the clashes between entrenched players and the "dozens" of startups will be tumultuous. Another usually unspoken truth about the new crop of B2B stars is that they're actually software companies masquerading as Internet concerns. Unless a company has predictable, recurring revenue streams, like B2B standouts Yahoo! (YHOO:Nasdaq) or America Online (AOL:NYSE), it's just another enterprise software company, albeit in a new niche. This is relevant because software makers that make big-ticket sales to a handful of customers are famously susceptible to end-of-quarter deals that yield the dreaded hockey-stick sales curve. Back-end loaded quarters make for poor visibility, which makes for volatility in the stock. Says Sherlund: "You don't want to pay 20 to 30 times revenue if you're unsure if they're going to make the quarter." Adam Lashinsky's column appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In keeping with TSC's editorial policy, he doesn't own or short individual stocks, although he owns stock in TheStreet.com. He also doesn't invest in hedge funds or other private investment partnerships. Lashinsky writes a column for Fortune called the Wired Investor, and is a frequent commentator on public radio's Marketplace program. He welcomes your feedback at alashinsky@thestreet.com. Send letters to the editor to letters@thestreet.com.

To: jay silberman who wrote (103)	9/17/1999 11:19:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 200

Nice PR this week. Chemdex Procurement Solutions Gain Widespread Adoption In the Life Sciences Market Delivering Flexible, End-to-End Procurement for Customers Of All Segments, All Sizes PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemdex(TM) Corporation (Nasdaq: CMDX), the leading provider of business-to-business e-commerce solutions for the life sciences industry, today announced the widespread acceptance of its procurement solutions for the life sciences market, with a total of 49 companies that have selected Chemdex systems. Chemdex is the only company that provides a vertical marketplace, hosted procurement and comprehensive services and support to the life sciences industry. Companies such as SmithKline Beecham, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Genome Therapeutics and many biotechnology companies and academic institutions have recently chosen Chemdex as their provider of e-commerce solutions for laboratory supplies. Chemdex procurement solutions address the entire procurement cycle for life science companies across all market segments. The solutions are designed to streamline the existing business practices of research laboratories, regardless of their size -- from small biotechnology companies to large pharmaceutical corporations. Only Chemdex offers life science companies a flexible, end-to-end procurement solution for purchasing laboratory supplies. Key components include: -- Robust online marketplace: the most comprehensive one-stop shop for laboratory supplies, helping researchers and purchasing professionals make fast, informed buying decisions. -- Hosted procurement: a Web-based procurement application tailored to each customer's purchasing business rules, reducing the total cost of ownership. -- Comprehensive services and support: customer service ensures timely order fulfillment, professional services guarantee rapid implementation and long-term account care facilitates adoption, maximizing productivity gains. "Business-to-business e-commerce requires a lot more than a Web site. Chemdex delivers a complete solution, demonstrating our long-term commitment to life sciences," said David Perry, president, CEO and co-founder of Chemdex. "We are thrilled with the level of customer commitment we are seeing in return." About Chemdex Chemdex Corporation is the leading provider of business-to-business electronic commerce solutions for the life sciences industry. Chemdex provides the only complete e-commerce solution consisting of an extensive online marketplace with biological and chemical reagents, lab supplies, instruments and equipment; hosted procurement, tailored to the unique business requirements of each customer; and comprehensive services and support. Uniting enterprises, buyers and suppliers, Chemdex solutions streamline business processes, enhance productivity and reduce costs. Chemdex customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic institutions. For more information, visit Chemdex at www.chemdex.com. "Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Chemdex's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Risk factors and other details are described in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 and in the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SOURCE: Chemdex Corporation CONTACT: Amy McKnight, 415-512-0770, or mcknight@schwartz-pr.com, or Brett Weiner 415-512-0770, or brettw@schwartz-pr.com, both of Schwartz Communications, Inc., for Chemdex Corporation; or Marsha Dillon of Chemdex Corporation, 650-813-0300, ext. 261, or mdillon@chemdex.com