SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Strategies & Market Trends : 50% Gains Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Steeliejim who wrote (6942)6/1/1999 2:38:00 PM
From: SteeliejimRespond to of 118717
 
Some interesting insights by Steve Harmon:

<<eMailbag:
StarMedia, Amazon, AOL, Marimba, Bottom?

By Steve Harmon
Senior Investment Analyst
Internet.com
"Where Wall Street Meets The Web"

First reader up writes: "Steve, what do you think of StarMedia?"

Reply: StarMedia's IPO struggled a little when it debuted last week with about a 30% rise the first day. That was owed to a
market glut that watered down anythingIPO.com. On the second day of trading however it popped so that StarMedia
(NASDAQ:STRM - news) was up more than 300% since IPO.

Is this a $3 billion company? If it can become the "Yahoo of Latin America" then I see some value in STRM's franchise. The
weak point to me looks like the concentrated online usage in Latin America, among the 20% of homes that can afford it. In the
U.S. and parts of Europe Internet usage has more than 30% household penetration.

But overall I see STRM as part of someone else's portfolio, that someone else being a larger media company.

Bottom Up?

"Steve, are we at the bottom of the market for Internet stocks?"

Reply: We are off substantially from highs. ISDEX was at 696 earlier this year and down more than 150 points since then. I
think that the huge runs that came early in 1999 were a little early for the sector and set up this huge correction as well as the
IPO rush.

I think we're still in a volatile market that may cause some IPOs to examine their motives a little closer. Good companies can
always go public, it just gets harder to be heard above the noise.

Regarding the bottom of the market I think we're at a healthier pace now for sustainable valuations. The percents I see make
sense vs. sheer frenzy.

Fortune article

"Steve, I saw you mentioned in Fortune (June 1999). Finally, the genius of Steve Harmon realized!"

Reply: I'm trying to make the Internet a better place for investors with analysis, tools, strategies, etc. It's been a 5-year quest
but there's a long way to go. Thanks for the feedback.

Business 2 Biz

"So many of the stocks in the Internet seem to be consumer stocks. What are your thoughts on business-to-business stocks?"

Reply: Consumer stocks always get the spotlight since many Internet users would consider themselves "consumers." Even
those at work may classify themselves this way and gravitate to the consumer brands for work-related offerings.

That's why Netscape.com, AOL.com, Yahoo.com all figure prominently in work usage patterns. Yet I foresee a tidal wave of
B2B stocks coming. I think Marimba (NASDAQ:MRBA - news) was one and that BackWeb may be another.

VerticalNet (NASDAQ:VERT - news) ran on B2B and still holds some interest because of its focus on vertical portals for
industry. Overall I think IBM (NYSE:IBM - news) and AT&T (NYSE:T - news) provide deep B2B exposure. IBM's chief
Lou Gerstner just said about a third of revenue comes from selling Internet products.

Microsoft is another. Intel. The big stocks are moving into the Internet (or rather the Internet is taking over their businesses).

Accolades for Internet Stock Report:

"Fresh and provocative" -CBS Marketwatch, who named Steve Harmon one of the top Internet stock analysts and only independent one
honored

"I am a huge fan of Steve Harmon's analysis" -Kleiner Perkins' John Doerr

Blip us with an e-mail to stocktalk@internet.com on what you think about any Internet stock or investment you've seen or
heard about to. Send us your rants, raves or ramblings and they may be included in this column in a special feedback edition
every week. Throughout the trading day be sure to check Internet Stock Report's index of leading Web companies, the
ISDEX, Internet Stock Index, for a roundup of how Internet stocks fare minute to minute.>>

Jim