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Technology Stocks : InfoSpace (INSP): Where GNET went! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: levy who wrote (26881)	4/11/2002 11:32:45 PM
From: Roger Sherman	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 28311

Analysts "ratings" were the least of the problems. This company had much MUCH bigger problems than phony over-hyping by analysts. Blodget's insane "Stong Buy" rating for INSP, with a 12 month target of something like $100/share prior to the "merger" with GNET (I believe having previously said $175/share) we all can now see was complete and utter bullsht (closing today just 37 pennies/share above NASDAQ de-listing territory)...however, it now appears that the only thing Merrill's analysts were completely accurate about was hidden in their (no longer) "private" e-mails... "Powder Keg" "Many institutions" had raised "bad smell comments" "Piece of junk" "Piece of Crap" Many of us were finally convinced this company was doomed to failure the moment it was announced on January 21, 2001 that the highly respected CEO (Arun Sarin), the COO & President (Russell Horowitz), and CFO (Rand Rosenberg) were all leaving INSP en masse (with many more top executives and managers to follow), and Jain was returning as CEO. Yet another great example of the INSP BOD living up to their "fiduciary responsibilities" to the shareholders. IMO this guy doesn't have the faintest idea how to run a successful business, and most of the people who did have long since gone. The final nail in the coffin was when Paul Allen announced he was dumping all his INSP shares, one day before 9/11/01. Believe me, he was not a happy camper. And I guess it is now well-recognized that InfoSpace is the official "Poster Child" for the tech stock DotBomb crash.* I know it's month old news, but according to this article of March 8th last month: money.cnn.com INSP was "The worst performing NASDAQ listed technology stock (with a market cap value of at least $500 million) since March 10,2000." Not just "one of the worst," but THE VERY WORST of them all, losing -98.6% of its value over the two year period. Something to tell your grand children, huh? In fact, it was actually worse than the article indicates. The value of INSP's shares actually dropped -99.24% from its high of $277/share ($138.50, spit-adjusted) hit on March 3, 2000, to its low of $1.06/share on August 30, 2001...in less than 18 months. But then again, perhaps there is a glimmer of hope for this company after all. After leaving Microsoft, wasn't Jain once quoted as saying something like, "I'll put a bullet in my head if any business I start fails." So I guess Jain has to make this company successful. A company with a market cap worth 100 times a trillion dollars...and bigger than MSFT, CSCO, and INTC combined. Because hasn't he always been known throughout the world as a man of unquestioned personal and professional integrity, and man with the very highest moral compass, a man with a vision...a man of his word? Another of my personal favorite quotes purported to have been made by Jain during a 1999 interview was, Jain's philosophy goes like this: "We've kicked our competitors. We've crushed them like gnats. Like Microsoft, there is not room for two players. If we enter a market, it is ours to own." Yep, well (with apologies to Dominick Dunne)... "Sometimes you're the windshield... and sometimes you're the bug." Cheers... Roger PS. Have you perused the the latest 10-K? Pretty much tells the pathetic story for 2001.