Jenna, regarding CKFR, you might be interested in the following
two articles that appeared yesterday and today. I'll forward
the second under a seperate response due to space considerations.
Internet Stock Watch Apr 26 1999 10:41AM CST Archives...
The Everyday Internet - Paying Bills Online is Growing
The Everyday Internet is a look into how the internet is changing the way humans live everyday life, and how we as investors can profit from that fact-of-life.
The average person hates to pay bills. Every month, write a check, lick a stamp, fight with the billing clerk; write a check, lick a stamp; write a check, lick a stamp, on and on.
Just imagine, paying bills in 10 minutes a month. No more paper statements to manage. You can schedule your bills on-line to be paid automatically. You can view, protest and pay bills from any Internet connection, and you can purchase products online without inputting payment information…all from one Internet site.
There are two destinctive services in the "Bill Paying" arena, Presentment and Payment.
First, Presentment is where the big benefits are going to occur. Any bill can be presented to the customer for payment (without paper, without printing, without a stamp), using the Internet...this service is called "bill presentment". In 1999, very few bill paying services have "Presentment" capabilities because this service requires an agreement with and electronic access to, billing entities like your utility, your city water department, your credit card companies, and your bank, anyone that sends you a bill. As these agreements and services come into being over the next few years, everyone will be able to receive, review, dispute and pay ALL their monthly bills with a keystroke on their bill paying service provider over the Internet.
The Second, and much more common service, is call a "Bill Paying Service". This service consists of a web site where you can pay a fee to have someone pay your bills for you, either by a paper check drawn on your account, or by electronic means. Many banks and some web sites have this service today. It is really no great shakes, you are paying someone to pay your bills for you. You still have to enter the information, account names, numbers and amounts monthly.
The reality and potential of an investment in this "every day" segment of the Internet is staggering. A company with this private database of information will have power beyond the imagination, just like today's credit bureau, and they will have profits to spare when their time comes.
Two major players in this marketplace are CheckFree (www.checkfree.com), and Bills.Com (www.bill.com), with Microsoft® supported TransPoint® (www.msfdc.com) soon to launch.
Today, companies like CheckFree®; (CKFR) and Bills.com®; (BLLS) are not the worst stocks to monitor. A $700 investment in CheckFree in September of 1998 would be worth over $4000 in March '99 (Not bad for 6 monthsJ ). A $300 investment in BLLS in January '99 would be worth $600 in March '99, double your money in three months, WOW!.
These stocks are active. To take advantage of these opportunities, investors should watch these stocks, buy on dips, pre-set your sell price to lock in a nice profit, set yourself a modest stop-loss in case the market turns and forget this investment until you get execution. Then revisit. Remember, these companies are not profitable, but they are active and their potential is staggering because in 2005, everyone will use these services monthly. They belong in the most speculative portion of your portfolio.
To email feedback on this article or any other, simply click here, Paul Anthony Thomas at Telescan. Also, be sure to list the title of the article in the subject line of your email.
**Disclaimer: Trading involves risk, including possible loss of principal and other losses. Your trading results may vary. No representations are being made that these techniques will result in or guarantee profits in trading. Past performance is no indication of future results.**
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