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Technology Stocks : CMGI What is the latest news on this stock? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SKARLOEY who wrote (2465)	10/23/1998 7:16:00 AM
From: TokyoMex	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 19700

Top Stories: Volpe Notebook: CMGI, Advanced Fibre, Value America and Theglobe.com By TSC Staff Writers 10/22/98 7:37 PM ET CMG Information Services (CMGI:Nasdaq) is already considered a top-tier Internet stock, but unlike America Online (AOL:NYSE) or Yahoo! (YHOO:Nasdaq), it hasn't managed its earnings. In its most recent quarter ended July 31, CMG posted a profit of $1.27 per share, but it's zigzagged in and out of red ink for the past few years. For seven out of the last 12 quarters, CMG has shown losses. "Earnings predictability is not our strong suit," said Bill White, president of CMG's Internet group in an interview with TheStreet.com at the Volpe Brown Whelan Internet & Communications conference Thursday. But he points out that CMG is partly a direct marketing company and partly a venture capital firm. CMG's three-step investment process works like this: Get into compelling Internet technology early, publicize the heck out of it, then help sell it to the highest bidder or take it public. All in all, investors have liked the model. While CMG's stock is down 55% since August, it's still up more than 3,500% from its January 1994 IPO. "We aren't relying on traditional earnings-per-share goals but rather on having investors look at our stock as a way to invest on the Web," White said. Just last week, when Amazon.com (AMZN:Nasdaq) bought PlanetAll, CMGI received 800,000 Amazon shares for its 25% stake in the startup. Those shares were worth $22.4 million as of last week, a 400% return on the $4.5 million CMGI initially invested in PlanetAll. And CMGI's 29% stake in GeoCities is worth about $215 million -- a 3,000% return on its initial investment, despite GeoCities' recent tumbles. (Flatiron Partners, a minority shareholder in TheStreet.com, is also an investor in GeoCities.) What's CMG's next trick? The buzz at the Volpe conference concerned Silknet, a Web-based customer service software that CMG holds a 24% stake in. White hopes Silknet will replace client/server applications. One West Coast money manager, who owns CMG shares and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, suggested that Silknet's IPO could be bigger than Geocities'. Already, Microsoft (MSFT:NYSE), which also owns a small stake in CMGI, is using Silknet's eService software. Boost for Advanced Fibre? Volpe analyst Tim Savageaux emerged from Advanced Fibre Communications' (AFCI:Nasdaq) breakout session Thursday to urge his company's sales force to promote the stock. Why? It appeared that the telecom supplier might land some badly needed new business with an unnamed Baby Bell in early 1999, an analyst said. Asked how certain the new contract was, Savageaux said only, "It looks pretty good." (Volpe has underwritten offerings for Advanced Fibre.) With its stock down 84% since late June, Advanced Fibre could use a little help. Savageaux said the potential contract could boost earnings for the maker of copper-wire network gear. Savageaux projects Advanced Fibre's 1999 earnings to rise to 75 cents a share from an estimated 59 cents in 1998 and 1999 revenues to rise by 29% to $233 million. Advanced Fibre declined to comment. The company's stock rose 1 3/4 or 25% to 8 3/4. Around Theglobe.com First theglobe.com lowered the price of its planned IPO on Tuesday. Then the Web-page builder backed out of its Thursday morning presentations at the Volpe conference. Then it had second thoughts about going public. Theglobe.com called Volpe Wednesday afternoon to say it wouldn't show. Could it be that it thought the money managers attending the conference didn't need to know the details on why it cut the price range of its offering to an $8-to-$10-a-share range from $11-to-$13? Company officials couldn't be reached for comment. The repricing stripped $9 million off the $37 million theglobe.com had hoped to raise. Late Thursday afternoon, the company said it was delaying its IPO "due to market conditions." At least theglobe is in good company: Healtheon and Value America are delaying their IPO plans. Value America Joins the Book Business Yet another competitor is getting ready to joust with Amazon.com. During Value America's presentation at the Volpe conference, CEO Craig Winn disclosed that his online office-supply store would start selling books next month, in direct competition with the world's most famous online bookseller. The announcement comes two weeks after German media giant Bertelsmann said it was buying a 50% stake in barnesandnoble.com. Winn said his company would match Amazon's 40% discount on hardback best-sellers and beat its price on everything else. Value America also plans to work closely with Microsoft to link sales of computing books to computer products. If that's not enough to stir up business, Bill Gates will stage an exclusive chat on Value America when his next book is released in 1999.