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Technology Stocks : Healtheon Corporation (HLTH) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeffrey D who wrote (580)	4/4/2000 5:39:00 PM
From: Rob C.	Respond to of 861

NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - Shares of Internet health network Healtheon/WebMD Corp. <HLTH.O> fell 14 percent and hit a year low on Tuesday after a downgrade and general technology sell-off, but analysts don't think it will effect the company's merger pipeline. The stock was trading down 3 at 18-1/4, and hit a 52-week low of 15-5/8 earlier in the day. Healtheon, which is seeking to become the Web-based link between doctors, patients, drug companies and insurers, has many pending merger agreements, including deals with Medical Manager Corp. <MMGR.O>, its unit CareInsite Inc. <CARI.O> and Quintiles Transnational Corp.'s <QTRN.O> Envoy unit. But unlike many mergers, Healtheon's deals are not contingent on any range of stock valuations, which protects them from volatility like the market saw on Tuesday. "There were no collars on many of those deals," said Michael Davis, research director with Gartner Group <IT.N>. "Many of the companies they merged with know that as a combined entity they are much stronger than stand-alone components. I'm not too concerned that the deals they are negotiating won't go through." Healtheon and CareInsite were downgraded on Tuesday by US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, both to buy from strong buy, and investors have been fleeing technology stocks over the past few days in the wake of the anti-trust ruling against Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> Indeed, last week a slew of bad news hit the e-health sector and sent it into a tailspin. The news included: -- Several health insurers joining forces to create their own online marketplace in a move that would almost certainly hurt Healtheon. -- Drkoop.com Inc.'s <KOOP.O> independent auditors questioning whether the health Web site has enough cash to survive the year. -- A proposed merger between healthcare market researcher IMS Health Inc. <RX.N> and Internet healthcare firm TriZetto Group Inc. <TZIX.O> met with strong market disapproval. -- Federal regulators requesting additional information on Healtheon's acquisition of Envoy, the electronic transaction unit of Quintiles. "There's been one negative piece of news after the next; a downward spiral is almost expected in this kind of climate," said Claudine Singer, an analyst with Jupiter Communications. "The stories have impacted Healtheon and the space in which Healtheon plays and have created jitters." But despite the jitters, Gartner's Davis said that after the Nasdaq recovers, Healtheon should be able regain its strength. "This should not have a lot of impact, Healtheon is still pretty well-positioned to be the strong vendor over the next three to five years."