It might seem like every Internet stock has lost ground in the past month, with some still in the process of free-falling.
But looking at data compiled from internet.com’s Internet StockTracker spreadsheet, I’ve uncovered 10 — count ’em, 10! — Net stocks that have boldly defied a market downturn which through Wednesday had sent the Nasdaq plummeting 20 percent below its March 10 all-time closing high of 5048.63.
Let’s make that “barely,” not “boldly,” for in the one-month period ending Tuesday, the biggest gainer of all Internet stocks was up an anemic 7.2 percent. That was America Online (AOL).
Ah, an example of the “flight to value” that many analysts and market observers said was occurring during the month-long sell-off of Internet stocks.
Not really, if you consider that the only other heavyweight Net player on the list of monthly gainers is Cisco Systems (CSCO), which was up 2.8 percent. Cisco, with a market capitalization of $485.6 billion, is far and away the biggest Internet company, while AOL is No. 2 at $149.5 billion. Other than that formidable pair, there is only one other billion-dollar firm on the list.
Here are the High-Flying 10 for the past month, with percentage gain and market cap:
1) AOL, 7.2 percent, $149.5 billion: Buzz on the street is that AOL is set to once again turn in a strong earnings, with growth from all its major revenue streams.
2) MapQuest.com (MQST), 6.3 percent, $746 million: The online and wireless destination information service has been focusing less on the consumer market and more on B2B. It reported strong revenue growth, but widening losses, in mid-March.
3) Bottomline Technologies (EPAY), 5.6 percent, $516.3 million: Online billing, payment, and electronic banking software provider has landed contracts with Citibank and FleetBoston Financial in the past month.
4) Claimsnet.com (CLAI), 5.4 percent, $48.9 million: Maker of transaction software for the healthcare industry announced last month plans to expand into online management of employer-based health benefits market.
5) HeadHunter.NET (HHNT), 4.5 percent, $172.4 million: National online recruiting service predicts record results for Q1.
6) Switchboard (SWBD), 3.8 percent, $800.4 million: Online local B2C and B2B site has announced several customer wins and partnerships in recent weeks.
7) barnesandnoble.com (BNBN), 3.6 percent, $272.4 million: How did an e-tailer get on this list?
8) Cisco Systems, 2.8 percent, $485.6 billion: Still the ultimate infrastructure play.
9) Hoover’s (HOOV), 2.3 percent, $138.3 million: Online financial information provider raises profile with expanded distribution agreement with Lexis-Nexis and deal with Microsoft to power Redmond’s new MSN MoneyCentral IPO Center.
10) IDT (IDTC), 1.1 percent, $1.2 billion: AT&T and Yahoo buy shares of Net2Phone, an IDT subsidiary.
