ISDEX Churns Out Small Gain; DoubleClick Jumps

Positive moves from a few well-known Internet plays helped Internet.com’s Internet Stock Index post a small gain Friday.

The ISDEX closed up 5.42, or 1.02 percent, to 534.96. Its gain coincided with the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s second move across the 10,000 mark although that key index ended off 94.08 to close at 9,903.55.

Among the day’s gainers was America Online Inc. (AOL) which ended up 2-13/16 to 118-15/16 on news the company reportedly plans to trim up to 700 jobs at Netscape Communications Corp. next week.

Online advertising company DoubleClick Inc. (DCLK) jumped 22-1/8 to 179-3/4 on optimism over a growing Internet advertising market.

Shares of Web hosting firm Exodus Communications (EXDS) closed up 14-7/8 to 141 after the company announced a 2-for-1 stock split late Thursday.

Preview Travel (PTVL) lost 3-5/8 to 17-11/16 after announcing Chief Financial Officer Ken Pelowski resigned to go to an unspecified Internet company. Wedbush Morgan Securities also downgraded the stock to “hold” from “long-term buy.”

Shares of Yahoo! (YHOO) gave back 5-5/16 to close at 170. However, the company’s competitors had a much better day. Excite (XCIT) gained 8-3/4 to end at 121-3/4 and Infoseek (SEEK) added 3-5/8 to close at 84-1/2.

24/7 Media (TFSM) gained 5-3/4 to close at 45-3/4. On Thursday, the company signed an agreement with NBC Interactive Neighborhood to create a nationwide sales force that will sell both Internet and television advertising in several local markets.

Friday was also a good day for two Internet initial public offerings. Women’s network iVillage (IVIL) jumped 56-1/8 to close at 80-1/8 on its first day. Also, CheapTickets (CTIX) jumped 108 percent from its offering price of $15 a share to close at 31-1/4.