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Technology Stocks : Ariba Technologies (Nasdaq-ARBA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jerry Miller who wrote (1249)	10/3/2000 1:16:31 PM
From: Jerry Miller	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2110

Ariba, i2 shares plunge October 02, 2000 03:03 PM PT by Adam Feuerstein Ariba (ARBA) and i2 Technologies (ITWO) were hammered today after losing a key online marketplace customer. Ariba fell $16.20 to $127.06, while i2 slumped $17.19 to close the day at $169.88. The sell-off was exacerbated by a down day on Nasdaq, which lost more than 103 points. As first reported by Upside on Friday (see "Trading exchange 'Alliance' loses first customer"), the Alliance -- the trading exchange joint venture of Ariba, i2 and IBM (IBM) -- was dismissed by the Global Health Care Exchange. Investors were clearly shaken by the news, which fueled speculation that the Alliance was not the happy marriage portrayed by the three partners. "The sell-off could be an overreaction, but then again, it reinforces the position of skeptics who believe the Alliance is not the most stable situation," said Robert Johnson, an analyst with ABN Amro. Executives with Ariba did not return phone calls seeking comment. I2 executives could not be reached. IBM escaped today's carnage unscathed, closing up $5.19 to $117.81. Investors apparently believe that Ariba and i2 have a lot more riding on the Alliance than IBM, which can fall back on a host of other business lines. The decision by Global Health Care Exchange to ditch the Alliance, and instead acquire closely held software firm CentriMed to power its marketplace, puts added pressure on Ariba and i2 to prove their joint technology platform will work. The Alliance has had success in winning customers, but few, if any, of these consortium marketplaces have begun operations. Ariba stock has been riding a wave of unabashed optimism in recent months, jumpstarted by a blockbuster second-quarter performance. That momentum was stopped dead in its tracks today. "The momentum is clearly broken," says Johnson, of Ariba's performance. "But we expect the company to report a good third quarter, which should get the stock moving up again." Unless, of course, more exchanges decide to check out of the Alliance.