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To: Mark Fowler who wrote (81582)	10/22/1999 11:16:00 AM
From: tonyt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

>I heard someone downgraded it i'll hold too thanks... 'someone' -- LOL. I guess Blodget is now just a 'someone' (...or is that only on downgrades???) DJ Merrill Cuts Inktomi To Near-Tm Neutral From Accumulate This rating change was reported by CNBC. NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget downgraded his near-term rating for Inktomi Corp. (INKT) Friday, citing the stock's valuation and a widened estimate of the company's operating loss for fiscal 2000. Inktomi, a Foster City, Calif., Internet software firm, reported fourth-quarter results Thursday that beat analysts' estimates. It lost 9 cents a share, including an acquisition charge, narrower than the First Call/Thomson Financial consensus by a penny. It had revenue of $26.2 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30. While Blodget is maintaining his long-term "buy" rating for Inktomi, he cut his near-term recommendation to "neutral" from "accumulate." He said Inktomi appears to be investing more in sales, marketing and product development than he expected, according to a summary of his comments provided by Merrill Lynch. Blodget attributed the rising costs to Inktomi's efforts to maintain its market leadership position, as the field becomes more competitive. And while Inktomi beat Blodget's loss-per-share estimate for the fourth quarter, its operating loss of $7.1 million was wider than his estimate of $6.5 million, with sales and marketing costs rising more quickly than revenue. Inktomi was able to beat earnings-per-share estimates because of higher-than-expected interest income and share count, he said. Blodget raised his estimate of Inktomi's revenue for fiscal 2000 to $145 million from $130 million. But he also doubled his estimate of the company's operating loss to $24 million from $12 million. His estimate of Inktomi's loss-per-share in 2000 went to 17 cents from 10 cents, with increased interest income offsetting some of the operating loss. Inktomi's stock is trading at nearly 50 times Blodget's new estimate of the company's revenue in 2000. That multiple makes Blodget more cautious about the shares' performance in the near-term because the company is no longer significantly beating earnings and revenue estimates, he said. On Thursday, Inktomi shares finished trading at 120 1/2, up 4 13/16, or 4.2%, on Nasdaq volume of 1.7 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 1.9 million. - Peter Loftus, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5267; e-mail: peter.loftus@dowjones.com