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Technology Stocks : PNLK..ProNetLink..Facts Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dixie7777 who wrote (64)	5/18/1998 5:39:00 PM
From: Kevin G. O'Neill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 291

Dow Jones Newswires -- May 18, 1998 Internet Chatter Accompanies Rise And Fall of Pro Net Link By JOHANNA BENNETT Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- It's been a topsy-turvy month for Pro Net Link Corp. (PNLK). The on-line corporate networking company's stock price has surged and plunged twice in the last month. The only brokerage firm covering the OTC bulletin board stock has advised investors to sell their shares. Trading on Monday saw an early-morning surge up to $6 a share, only to fall back to a slight gain by late afternoon. All the while, Internet message-board participants continue a surprisingly supportive stance toward the shares - despite some serious dips - by posting more than 7,000 messages in less than a month on Silicon Investor and Yahoo Finance. "The excitement for the stock comes from all these posts and the press releases the company is putting out," said Sandy Greenberg, president of Chatfield Dean & Co., the sole brokerage firm covering the stock. Shares of Pro Net Link recently were selling for $4.93 a share, up 6%, following a price plunge late last week and Friday's kickoff of the company's new World Wide Web site. "Any doubts about this company were quickly put to rest over the weekend," wrote one Silicon Investor participant. "If you did not take advantage of Friday's sell-off, SHAME ON YOU." Monday's action appears to be just the latest turn in a three-week-long roller-coaster ride during which the stock shot up from under $1 a share to a high of 7 15/32 last week. But after Chatfield Dean & Co. issued its sell recommendation, the stock fell to its close Friday of $4.65 a share. "There is absolutely no reason in our mind (for the stock to be down)," said company spokesman Glen Zagaoren. "Everything Pro Net Link set out to do for our launch (of a new Web site) has been completed on time... The only assumption I have is that there are people out there whose intention to drive stock down for their own gain." Not everyone agreed. A Chatfield Dean research report issued last week contained the sell recommendation - a rarity in financial circles - for the start-up company, arguing that the company has no history of revenues and the shares are overvalued. And accusations have arisen from some circles that Pro Net Link was being hyped on Internet chat rooms. Last week, when the Pro Net Link hit an intraday high of $8 a share, the company's market cap was $300 million. By Monday afternoon, the valuation hovered at $176 million. The report also says the company lacks enough capital to market its Web site, with $485,314 cash on hand and a credit line of $500,000, not to mention liabilities of more than $399,000 and net losses of $364,000 for the nine-month period ended May 7. "I am not taking issue with the fact they want to open an Internet business," said Greenberg, whose company said it wasn't short on the stock. "What we are taking issue with is the valuation being placed on the company." A Pro Net Link spokesman, as well as participants in message boards on Yahoo Finance and Silicon Investor, have taken issue with Greenberg's statements, questioning the motivation behind the rating. Allegations of stock hype are "Hooey," said company spokesman Glen Zagaoren. "I am not saying there aren't people who hype a stock... What I am saying is that my company and Pro Net Link have been very active in making sure the information on that site is very accurate," Zagaoren said. A demo Web site has been averaging 10,000 user sessions a month, good news considering the company estimates signing up about 1,000 customers in the first month, Zagaoren said. But by the end of the first year, subscriptions will number 35,000 to 40,000 and account for $12 million in gross revenues, he added. Meanwhile, Company President Russell Van de Casteele has put $100,000 into the company as of May 11, Zagaoren said. -Johanna Bennett; 201-938-5670 Briefing Book for: PNLK Return to top of page \| Format for printing Copyright c 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.