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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Norton who wrote (7855)	6/28/1998 8:06:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164687

Internet Stks Slip On Profit-Taking After Tremendous Gains NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Internet stocks have finally begun to pull back on profit-taking after soaring over the past week and a half on speculation that many in the group could be takeover targets for the large media companies. "It was due to happen," Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. analyst Ulric Weil said of Wednesday's losses. Still, many in the group are trading well above where they were just two days ago. Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) are currently down 4 51/2, or 3%, at 143 9/16. The stock closed at 129 1/4 on Friday and at 113 13/16 a week before that. America Online Inc.'s (AOL) shares are down 3 3/4, or 3.5%, at 102 1/2. The stock closed at 96 3/8 on Friday and at 87 1/8 a week before that. Shares of Excite Inc. (XCIT) are down 3 1/2, or 4.2%, at 79 1/4. The stock closed at 73 5/8 on Friday and at 65 3/8 a week before that. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) was one of the biggest gainers earlier this week. The stock jumped 7%, or 5 9/16, to 81 3/8 on Monday, and another 11 5/16, or 13.9%, to 92 11/16 Tuesday. The shares, which were down earlier, were recently up 1, or 1.1%, at 93 11/16. Weil, the Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst, attributed the enormous gains in the Internet sector - and particularly in shares of Amazon.com - over the past few days to "wild enthusiasm" for the group among retail investors. "Once the retail crowd is worked up on a particular story, they carry it to extremes," Weil said. "They are very emotional." He added that on-line chatter about these stocks in Internet chat rooms has only added fuel to the fire. Moreover, Weil noted, thin floats among many Internet stocks and short-covering have added to the gains. Internet stocks have jumped significantly over the past two weeks on speculation over who in the group will become the next target for a traditional media company. As the major media giants try to determine how best to establish themselves on the Web, they must decide whether to build their own Internet operations or buy a company that has already made a name for itself in cyberspace. Both General Electric Co.'s (GE) NBC network and Walt Disney Co. (DIS) chose the latter option and announced over the past two weeks that they would invest in companies that are building up Internet gateway sites known as portals. NBC agreed to take a 4.99% interest in CNET Inc. (CNWK), and a 19% stake in CNET's Snap! portal service with the option to boost this stake to 60%. And Disney agreed to acquire a 43% stake in Infoseek Corp. (SEEK) for $70 million in cash and Disney's ownership stake in Starwave Corp., an Internet technology company. That deal has been criticized as very expensive for Infoseek since the company has agreed to pay $165 million to Disney to promote an advanced portal site that the two companies are launching. This provision, which analysts believe could push out the date when Infoseek turns profitable into the next decade, has held back Infoseek's shares as the rest of the sector has soared recently. But it has done little to damp investor enthusiasm that the other portal sites could become takeover targets. Many on Wall Street believe Lycos Inc. (LCOS), which is now one of the cheaper independent portals around, could be the next to be bought by a big company like Time Warner Inc. (TWX) or News Corp. (NWS). An unconfirmed report last week that America Online rebuffed a takeover offer from AT&T Corp. (T), which is trying to build up its consumer Internet-access operations, also stirred rumors that some of the big phone companies could bid for Internet companies and for the Internet access providers in particular. Analysts agreed, however, that America Online isn't looking to sell itself right now. And AT&T's announcement earlier Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Tele-Communications Inc. (TCOMA, TCOMB), a cable company that will also help the long-distance giant build up its consumer Internet operations, is likely to quell speculation about an AOL deal. -Joelle Tessler; 201-938-5285