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To: Mark Fowler who wrote (29341)	12/8/1998 7:09:00 PM
From: cellhigh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

would love to purchase some sauvignon when she bears fruit. i misinterpreted your message about making up short losses. glad your not short.

To: Mark Fowler who wrote (29341)	12/8/1998 7:31:00 PM
From: Bill Harmond	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

>>another vineyard in '99 Mark, I've been reading that the industry is way over-planted. Isn't it better to buy your grapes?

To: Mark Fowler who wrote (29341)	12/8/1998 8:45:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Silicon Valley: Analysts Starry-Eyed About EarthWeb By Suzanne Galante Staff Reporter 12/8/98 2:04 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO -- Nearly four weeks after its spectacular debut, EarthWeb (EWBX:Nasdaq) is winning rave reviews not only from the day traders who gloat over profits in online message boards, but from Wall Street analysts. J.P. Morgan and Volpe Brown Whelan, both underwriters of EarthWeb, initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating Monday. Another underwriter, Bear Stearns, rated the stock attractive. Given the stock's valuation, that's saying a lot. EarthWeb debuted at 14 on Nov. 11 and, after more than quadrupling on its first day, rose as high as 85 two days later. After that, it drifted back to reality, falling as low as 31 on Friday, marking a 64% decline over three weeks. But the stock regained 58% to close at 52 Monday on the new ratings before retreating to trade at 49 at midday Tuesday. "Investors shouldn't be surprised," says Steven Tuen, director of research at IPO Value Monitor. "The feeling is that since EarthWeb went up so much from the offering price, maybe [analysts] would come out with a neutral rating. But [two] came out with a buy." The buy rating at J.P. Morgan, EarthWeb's lead underwriter, is the highest rating the firm gives. Bear Stearns analyst Scott Ehrens was the only one to show concern about the stock's value with an attractive rating. Ehrens put a 12-month target of 40 on EarthWeb, but the shares passed that mark in the first 20 minutes of trading. Volpe's 12-month price target was 68. The bullish reports pose something of a dilemma: If the stock is a buy at 30, how fairly priced was the stock at the offering? Underwriters often price new issues at something like a 20% discount to leave room for post-IPO gains. EarthWeb has never traded at less than double its offering price. To determine a stock's fair value, underwriters look at a company's revenue, page-view growth and other fundamentals. Given the wild popularity of Internet stocks recently, it's like putting fundamentals on a Furby doll. "None of that matters because of supply and demand," says William Schaff, chief investment officer at Bay Isle Financial. "They have no idea what the valuation is, so they might as well put a buy on it." Still, it's hard to pretend that much of EarthWeb's gains have come from anyone other than day traders who are making hay in illiquid Internet stocks. "It's ludicrous," Jay Ferrara, portfolio manager at the Principal Preservation PSE Tech 100, says. "You have a lot of momentum players and day traders who are very short-term-oriented." This raises more questions: With little behind EarthWeb's escalated price beyond day-trader speculation, what exactly are the Wall Street analysts endorsing? Tuen advises taking the buy ratings "with a big grain of salt," because the underwriters are an interested party. "So be wary of these types of endorsements." "They aren't telling anything new or anything that is all that meaningful," says Schaff. "But it makes them look good when they want to go out and do some more underwriting." But as EarthWeb investors learned Monday, those buy ratings only reignite the day-trading frenzy all over again. That's something to keep in mind in coming weeks. Underwriting analysts must wait 26 days after an IPO before initiating coverage. That means coverage on theglobe.com (TGLO:Nasdaq) could start as early as Wednesday. Computer Literacy (CMPL:Nasdaq) will pass the 26-day mark on Dec. 16. And coverage for Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch (TMCS:Nasdaq) and uBid (UBID:Nasdaq) will follow in about three weeks. Each stock could rally on the news. TGLO has risen 38% in the past two trading days on anticipation of the new coverage. And more Net offerings are coming: Xoom.com, AboveNet, Internet America, Infospace.com and Audiohighway.com among them. That could keep both investors in and analysts of these stocks busy. But both may be left out in the cold if the buying spree ends. "Everybody jumped on board" Monday, says Ferrara. "But who knows what will happen in a month?"