Gst, forget Billy. B2B is making a come back!
>Last Update: 10:55 AM ET Dec 28, 2000 NewsWatch
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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- After a two-day slide, Internet stocks recharged Thursday, as Net customer relationship software firm Blue Martini tracked sharply higher for the third straight session.
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Updated:
12/28/2000 3:16:24 PM ET
Blue Martini (BLUE: news, msgs), which makes Internet software that essentially helps retailers, such as Saks Fifth Avenue, interact and understand their customers, saw its shares gain $3.31, or 25 percent, to $16.63, after having started the week at $7.
On Thursday, Blue Martini inked a deal with Intel, in which its software will be optimized to work with Intel's Pentium III Xeon. See full story.
Still, at current prices, Blue Martini is trading below its July IPO price of $20. Additionally, at the end of January, the lock-up period expires and there could be as many as 59 million shares released into the market, according to Tucker Anthony Capital Markets.
Merrill Lynch Internet Infrastructure Holdrs, a basket of software and services commerce enablers, gained 2 percent. Within the gauge, Vignette (VIGN: news, msgs), which competes with Blue Martini, gained (VIGN: news, msgs)8 percent while rival Art Technology Group(ART: news, msgs) (ARTG: news, msgs) managed to eke out gains. But the '99 darling and once-dominant leader in the e-personalization software market, BroadVision (BVSN: news, msgs), saw its shares come under pressure.
Tibco Software (TIBX: news, msgs) and Vitria Technology (VITR: news, msgs), both integrators of disparate pieces of software, saw shares jump 10 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
"B2B" calling
The so-called "B2B" sector managed to build on Wednesday's gains.
Merrill Lynch B2B Holdrs, gained 6 percent, after adding 5 percent on Wednesday.
Ventro (VNTR: news, msgs) jumped 45 percent to $1.31. PurchasePro (PPRO: news, msgs) ran up 12 percent to $21.69.
Ariba (ARBA: news, msgs), the leading Internet software enabler of business-to-business commerce, saw shares tack on 3 percent to $57.63. Investors are testing the waters as the stock hovers some $10 above a 52-week low. In the past year, Ariba shares have traded between $43.56 and $183.
"When you're looking for high growth, there are fewer places to find it. So, if there's perception that tech leaders are running into trouble, the market looks for new leaders," said Richard Williams, an analyst at Jefferies & Co., who believes that Ariba's current share price factors in a slowdown in software spending.
"We don't see evidence that there will be further deterioration in spending," he said.
Rival Commerce One (CMRC: news, msgs) surged $1.56, or 6 percent, to $27, after running up 14 percent in Wednesday's activity.
Of note...
Network Associates (NETA: news, msgs) shares fell another 4 percent Thursday, after shares plunged 61 percent to $4.56 Wednesday on news the security software firm issued profit and revenue warnings and announced an exodus from its executive suite.
Network Associates said reseller partners Ingram Micro and Merisel were cutting back on refilling their inventory as the possibility of a recession next year looms, according to Jefferies & Co.'s Williams, who listened in on the company's conference call.
Additionally, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm said its CEO, CFO and president have resigned. See full story.
Overall Net sector
After limping across the finish line on Wednesday, the overall Net sector fired up.
The Goldman Sachs Internet Index gained 4 percent after giving up ground in the past two sessions. Net-access leader and Time Warner merger partner America Online (AOL: news, msgs) inched up 0.4 percent to $35.87.
Amazon.com (AMZN: news, msgs) added 50 cents to $17.38, after stumbling on Wednesday. In a note to clients outlining his predictions for 2001, Scott Reamer, an analyst at S.G. Cowen, said he wouldn't be surprised to see Amazon and Wal-Mart announce a wide-ranging partnership.
Amazon could become Wal-Mart's partner in online order taking, processing and shipping, while Wal-Mart might give Amazon access to low-cost inventory. Indeed, Amazon's inability to pare its expenses and show a profit has been the anchor weighing down this stock. EBay (EBAY: news, msgs) added $2.63 to $37.91. Shares rose 1.6 percent Wednesday, following the company's rollout of its first nationwide TV advertising campaign. See full story.
Yahoo (YHOO: news, msgs) added 3 percent to surface above the $30 mark. |
