Chris Nerney

You wouldn’t know it from looking at the Internet stock market so far this year, but a recent study confirms what we all know: The Internet economy is booming. In the long run, that’s good news for investors who may now be gun-shy in the wake of this spring’s meltdown of ‘Net shares. The report, […]

It is one of only a half-dozen Internet companies to have lost 90 percent or more of its value through May this year. Seven weeks ago, it announced it was losing its biggest customer, which accounted for 30 percent of the company’s revenues, and that it would let go 10 percent of its workforce. And […]

For the second month in a row, the Internet IPO market was stagnant, with only a half-dozen ticker debuts in May. June promises to be not much better. If you exclude January, which traditionally sees few public offerings, May was the quietest month for ‘Net IPOs in the past year and a half. And while […]

Five months down, and seven months to go in a year that so far has seen the worst fears of Internet investors realized. Despite occasional moments such as Tuesday’s one-day record-breaking rally (as well as Thursday’s run-up), the mood is grim and the trend is down as Internet stocks continue to grope desperately for the […]

Online search service Ask Jeeves isn’t the biggest loser of the year among Internet stocks; about 30 other ‘Net tickers have fallen even more than ASKJ’s 81 percent plunge through Tuesday’s trading. But none of the other major decliners – with the possible exceptions of Linux software vendor Red Hat and B2B incubator Internet Capital […]

While this spring’s severe market downturn has hit most Internet stocks hard, it has delivered a double-whammy to online brokers. Not only are the stocks of all online brokers down substantially this year, the brokers’ main source of revenue – transaction fees – is expected to diminish significantly over the next two quarters or more […]

Using round-by-round scoring, the past four weeks are a draw. Under the point system, however, Internet stocks are trailing on all cards in their latest bout with investor anxiety about overvaluations and rising interest rates. Let’s look at the action as measured by internet.com’s Internet StockTracker weekly newsletter: Four weeks ago, Internet stocks rallied for […]

The alternatives facing the growing list of Internet have-nots are somewhat limited: 1) Die a slow death; 2) Get acquired at a bargain price; 3) Retool your business model in hopes of reversing your declining fortunes. Online postage services provider E-Stamp is opting for No. 3. Having recorded a paltry $1.3 million in sales last […]

On Tuesday, we looked at the top performers so far this year among stocks listed in internet.com’s Internet Stock Index, noting that only 13 of the 50 ISDEX members have gained in share price. By the time trading ended Tuesday, however, the number of ISDEX gainers had been cut to six as 45 of the […]

The correction that continues to stagger Internet stocks as spring slides toward summer has taken the Nasdaq down by 17.3 percent for the year through Monday’s trading. Even harder-hit has been internet.com’s Internet Stock Index, which through Monday has fallen 24.4 percent this year. Amazingly, only one ISDEX company America Online has gained in trading […]

Either Internet investors have short memories, or they just don’t know how to value a company. Witness Monday’s reaction to the latest pair of ‘Net marriage proposals. E-commerce software maker Vignette said it would buy B2B supply software vendor OnDisplay for $1.7 billion in stock, while B2B e-commerce service provider WebMethods announced it would purchase […]

Last summer I wrote about the prospects for Phone.com , the company that makes software allowing wireless telephones to connect to the Internet. Back then I observed that “investor enthusiasm for Phone.com is premature” because the wireless market was nascent and formidable competitors lurked in the mists. I also wrote that PHCM “may be the […]