To: Malko who wrote (80 ) 11/19/1998 6:19:00 PM From: ztect Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 277
RE: DBCC To: ztect (1466 ) From: Scott Kleinhans Thursday, Nov 19 1998 5:47PM ET Reply # of 1469 DENVER (Dow Jones)--Data Broadcasting Corp. (DBCC) shares hit a new 52-week high Thursday, and Co-Chief Executive Alan Hirschfield attributed the increase mostly to anticipation of an initial public offering of CBS MarketWatch, the company's 50-50 joint venture with CBS Corp. (CBS). The stock of Data Broadcasting, a Jackson, Wyo., company that provides real-time market data to individual investors and others, was up nearly 10% recently after a 29.2% rise Wednesday. CBS MarketWatch, which runs a business-news Web site with stock quotes and other financial information, has filed for the IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hirschfield noted that other Internet-related IPOs have performed well, and investors appear to be imputing a value to Data Broadcasting to reflect the potential value of its current 50% interest in CBS MarketWatch. The offering would put 20% of the joint venture into the public's hands. Hirschfield also attributed some of the stock activity to growth in Internet subscribers to the company's real-time market data. Data Broadcasting has been shifting its emphasis to delivery through the Internet rather than cable TV or FM radio. In reporting results Monday for its fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, Data Broadcasting said its Internet subscriber base grew to 6,200 from 1,000 last December, a rate Hirschfield said was faster than the company had expected. A third factor in the stock rise may be the positive first-quarter results for InSite, the company's data services for the professional user, he noted. Daniel King, research analyst with LaSalle St. Securities in Chicago, said Data Broadcasting's core business is doing "basically well," but what's mainly driving the stock is the prospect of the CBS MarketWatch IPO. He cited recent excitement over Internet IPOs. For instance, there was EarthWeb Inc.'s (EWBX) leap from its offering price of 14 to nearly 49 on the stock's first day of trading Nov. 11. "I think it's a reflection of the broad rally in Internet stocks," he said of the Data Broadcasting surge. However, King, who has a neutral rating on the stock, said he thinks much of the trading is on a short-term basis. "I think that people have just gotten way overboard on Data Broadcasting," he said. After a 29.2% rise Wednesday, Data Broadcasting shares were recently up 3/4, or 9.7%, at 8 1/2 on volume of 4.1 million, compared with a daily average of 172,500. Earlier, they rose as high as 9 5/8, past their previous year record of 9 1/8 set in April. - Tom Locke; 303-293-9294 (END) DOW JONES NEWS 11-19-98 03:59 PM- - 03 59 PM EST 11-19-98