SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: e. boolean who wrote (8334)7/1/1998 8:26:00 PM
From: Andrew  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 164684
 
Boolean

I only got one good answer, July 22 for their earnings release.
Other than that, me and my co-worker got "No comments" from them.




To: e. boolean who wrote (8334)7/2/1998 4:18:00 AM
From: e. boolean  Respond to of 164684
 
Here's a tiny bit of reality that might help spoil the party tomorrow - similar piece in the WSJ, I believe.

By Andrea Orr
PALO ALTO, Calif., July 1 (Reuters) - Netscape
Communications Corp. stock soared Wednesday amid
expectations it would be the next Internet business to enter a
lucrative partnership with a major media company.
But some people familiar with the online business said
investors may have misinterpreted the remarks by the Netscape
official that triggered the buying furor.
Netscape shares jumped $8.625 on Wednesday to finish at
$35.687. It was one of the biggest gaining stocks on Nasdaq,
and the second most active.
A Netscape spokesperson declined to comment on the stock
activity.
"People looked at that comment (from Netscape Executive
Vice President Mike Homer) and said, 'Hmmm, they want to be
acquired," said Abishek Gami, an analyst with William Blair &
Co. in Chicago.
What Netscape was really referring to, Gami said, was its
interest in teaming up in limited ways with other media
companies to provide content to its Web site. He said this type
of alliance has been part of Netscape's strategy "from day
one."
In an interview on Tuesday, Netscape's Homer said "we're
talking to all of them" -- a broad reference to all the big
U.S. media companies that might be able to augment its
Netcenter Web site.
Asked if the company might seek out a single partner to
invest in and help promote its business, he replied, "It's not
out of the question but it's also not necessarily what we're
looking for." The distinction may have been lost on several
investors.
For the past several months, Netscape has been in a game of
catch-up with some other big Internet services like Yahoo! Inc.
and Excite Inc. , that have attracted millions
of people to its Web sites with non-technical content like
shopping, news and horoscopes.
On Tuesday, Netscape unveiled a new and improved Web site
that diluted the previous focus on computers and software with
several new "channels" such as shopping and health.
Analysts said these additions will prove valuable to
Netcenter, but will not necessarily bring the kind of value
many investors are looking for. They said the widespread
willingness of people to buy the stock on the basis of Homer's
general comments underscored the gambling mentality that had
overtaken the whole sector of Internet stocks.
A number of other Internet stocks like Yahoo!, Amazon.com
Inc. and Internet advertising company DoubleClick Inc.
also stormed ahead of the rest of the stock market
Wednesday amid expectations of rapid growth in the online
business and more mega-deals with media companies.
"It's a speculative bubble, regardless of the company's
price or its valuation," Bob Walberg, chief equity analyst with
Briefing.com in Chicago, said. "People are trying to get
involved in the next 'deal company,' and the valuations are
becoming obscene."
The intense interest in deals in the Internet business
follows two recent high-profile deals in which NBC Inc. bought
a stake in the online technology news service Cnet Inc.
and Walt Disney Co. invested in Infoseek Corp.
.
These alliances helped validate the Internet business to
some of its stubborn critics and set off a race for other media
giants to stake a claim on the online business, which is
increasingly being viewed as the media of the future.
"I don't know of an Internet portal company that isn't in
major conversations with the big media companies," said David
Wetherell, president of the direct marketing company CMG
Information Services Inc.
But some analysts warn that this does not translate into
unlimited gains for investors. While all companies are in talks
with investors, not all will likely seal the coveted deals. And
even those who do may still be overpriced, in view of the
phenomenal gains of recent months.
Bookseller Amazon.com, for instance, which ended trading
Wednesday above $114 a share, traded around $40 as recently as
early June.
"At some point the strategy is going to fail and stocks
will make a sustained move to the downside," Walberg said.
Others were not so certain.
"Imagine the shift from print media to television," said
Philip Leigh, Vice President of Internet Investment Research in
St. Petersburg, Fla. "The shift from television to the Internet
promises to be more powerful. ... I think that is becoming
evident to most people."