To: Sarkie who wrote (900 ) 6/27/2000 10:14:00 AM From: Sarkie Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 1094
WR Hambrecht + Co Initiates Coverage of VerticalNet, Inc. (VERT) With A Strong Buy Rating and $60 Price Target ================================================================ Firm Appears to be Ideally Positioned in the Business-to-Business Internet Economy SAN FRANCISCO, June 27, /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by WR Hambrecht + Co, a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, CRD number 45040: WR Hambrecht + Co today initiated research coverage of VerticalNet, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERT) with a Strong Buy rating and $60 price target. WR Hambrecht + Co's eMarkets/Portals analyst Derek Brown cited VerticalNet's portfolio-like approach and attractive business model as key reasons for the Strong Buy rating. WR Hambrecht + Co offers all its research reports free and real-time at www.wrhambrecht.com. "With early leadership status and a strong track record of success, VerticalNet appears to be ideally positioned within the massive and potentially explosive B2B advertising and ecommerce market, which Forrester Research projects will reach $1.4 trillion in 2004," Brown said. Brown projects VerticalNet's total net revenues will reach $177.8 million in 2000 and $349.9 million in 2001, up from $20.8 million in 1999. VerticalNet is a diversified participant in the business-to-business Internet economy, operating 56 vertical trade communities, multiple horizontal ecommerce services and applications, and NECX Exchange, an electronic components marketplace. About WR Hambrecht + Co WR Hambrecht + Co (www.wrhambrecht.com) is leveraging technology to bring transparency to capital formation and securities exchange processes. The firm's earliest and best-known innovation is OpenIPO, an auction-based model for initial public offerings. WR Hambrecht + Co focuses on providing underwriting and advisory services for technology and emerging growth companies as well as on investing for its own portfolio. The firm serves institutional and retail clients with equity research, sales and trading, electronic brokerage and online private equity syndication. WR Hambrecht + Co has offices in San Francisco, New York, Boston and Philadelphia and is backed by industry leaders including: American Century, American Express, Crimson Ventures, epartners, Fidelity Ventures, Hikari Tsushin Capital, Inc., Instinet Corporation, Novell, Park Avenue Capital, Scudder Technology Fund, Kemper Technology Fund and Texas Pacific Group. SOURCE WR Hambrecht + Co -0- 06/27/2000 /CONTACT: Amanda Hatton of WR Hambrecht + Co, 415-551-8689, or ahatton@wrhambrecht.com/ /Web site: wrhambrecht.com ================================================================