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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Bid.com International (BIDS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: AL who wrote (2957)	12/3/1998 11:30:00 PM
From: techstocker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37507

Thursday December 3, 9:37 pm Eastern Time Bid.Com's president criticizes share analysis TORONTO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Shares of cyberspace auctioneer Bid.Com International Inc. (Toronto:BII.TO - news) again bounced off the ceiling of Toronto's most active stocks on Thursday and its president defended the company from suggestions that it is overvalued. The Toronto-based electronic retail company, which auctions everything from diamond bracelets to sports memorabilia on the Worldwide Web, hovered around C$3.05 on volume of more than eight million shares. Shares went from a high of C$3.60 to a low of $2.86, before closing the day at C$3.05. Adam Adamou, an analyst at Taurus Capital, warned investors that Bid.Com shares would continue their wobbly path as the company's stock price is not based on fundamentals. ''The trading going on is based on not much information, but rather on what people believe is going to happen in the future,'' said Adamou. ''The future is always changing, so small changes in the perceptions of the future result in big changes in the current price.'' Adamou contended that Bid.Com is overvalued in comparison to other Internet firms, such as San Jose, Ca.-based eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY - news). Based on estimates for 1998, he calculated a gross margin of just 2.65 per cent for Bid.Com, compared with 87.7 per cent for eBay and 11 per cent for Onsale Inc. He also pointed to net revenues of the two companies, which he estimated to be $37 million for eBay and C$530,000 for Bid.Com. ''The amount of merchandise Bid.Com sold over their website is a fraction of what eBay has sold. EBay sold close to $1 billion while Bid.Com sold C$20 million,'' he said. Bid.Com president Jeff Lymburner defended the stock's recent spectacular movement, calling Adamou's comparisons ''spurious'' and ''superficial.'' Lymburner argued that while Bid.Com and eBay Inc. are both involved in the arena of electronic commerce, ''We are very, very different businesses.'' Bid.Com auctions everything from electronics to toys, while Lymburner says his company is a classified advertiser. He also rejected Adamou's comparison of the two companies' gross margins. ''The gross margin figure as a stand-alone point of comparison is entirely ridiculous and very irresponsible,'' said Lymburner. Lymburner maintained there is room to compete against other firms like eBay, and that investors realize that. ''A lot of people are tapping into the totally valid notion that e-commerce is growing by leaps and bounds. I think the potential for absolutely unprecedented growth still exists on that basis.'' Adamou cautioned small investors not to get caught panning for nuggets of Internet gold. ''If a stock is not trading on its fundamentals, then I'd typically urge people to stay away from it because it could go up and it could go down,'' said Adamou. ''You don't know where its going to be so it's a very risky game.'' More Quotes and News: Bid.Com International Inc (Toronto:BII.TO - news) eBay Inc (Nasdaq:EBAY - news) Related News Categories: US Market News