If only the rest of 2001 could be like January for Internet stocks.
In the first month of the new year, internet.com’s Internet Stock Index gained 18% from its Dec. 29 close, easily outpacing the Nasdaq, which itself rose a healthy 12%.
Thirty-three of the ISDEX’s 50 member stocks gained in January, with 10 soaring at least 50%.
Topping the list is GoTo, a pay-for-position Web search site that saw its shares more than double in the year’s initial month of trading. I can’t offer an explanation for GOTO’s rise, other than it was trading near all-time lows as January dawned. The company is losing money (94 cents per share in Q3) and picked up a near-term “neutral” rating from Merrill Lynch on Jan. 11, so go figure GOTO’s surge.
The near-doubling of share price for S1 Corp., which makes Internet software for financial services providers such as banks and brokerages, is even more mystifying, given the company’s Jan. 18 warning about Q4 results. SONE took a temporary hit after the news and subsequent downgradings, but then resumed its rise. Like GOTO and most other Internet stocks, S1 was trading at or near new lows heading into 2001.
While online broker E*TRADE Group turned in steady gains all last month, it got an extra boost after reporting fiscal first-quarter results on Jan. 24 that beat street expectations and drew favorable comments from analysts. EGRP showed a Q1 profit of 2 cents per share, topping estimates of 1 cent per share.
The big loser in the ISDEX for January was Vignette, a maker of e-business software. VIGN lost more than 50%, thanks in large part to the company’s sobering revenue outlook for 2001. Vignette officials warned on Jan. 18 that revenue for 2001 would be $500 million, well below earlier street forecasts of $600 million.
Below is a complete list of ISDEX member performance in January. And below that list is an update on an item in Thursday’s Morning Report:
1/31 12/29
Ticker Company Close Close %Change
GOTO GoTo 15.00 7.31 105.2
SONE S1 Corp. 10.06 5.25 91.6
EGRP E*TRADE Group 14.00 7.38 89.7
NTOP Net2Phone 13.56 7.38 83.7
AGCX Asia Global Crossing 11.19 6.56 70.6
ELNK EarthLink 8.38 5.03 66.6
PRSF Portal Software 13.00 7.84 65.8
TRLY Terra Lycos 16.31 10.56 54.5
TMCS Ticketmaster Online 12.88 8.38 53.7
AOL AOL-Time Warner 52.56 34.80 51.0
EBAY eBay 49.38 33.00 49.6
RHAT Red Hat 9.34 6.25 49.4
AMTD Ameritrade 10.25 7.00 46.4
HOMS Homestore.com 29.38 20.13 46.0
OPWV Openwave Systems 69.25 47.94 44.4
SAPE Sapient 16.88 11.94 41.4
DCLK DoubleClick 15.38 11.00 39.8
MLTX Multex.com 18.38 13.25 38.7
RAZF Razorfish 2.25 1.63 38.0
ROOM Hotel Reservations 38.56 28.38 35.9
EXDS Exodus Communications 26.63 20.00 33.2
BRCM Broadcom 109.94 84.00 30.9
LBRT Liberate Technologies 17.31 13.63 27.0
ARTG Art Technology Group 38.00 30.56 24.3
YHOO Yahoo! 37.31 30.06 24.1
CMRC Commerce One 30.56 25.31 20.7
ATHM At Home 6.50 5.53 17.5
RNWK RealNetworks 10.19 8.69 17.3
RSAS RSA Security 62.00 52.88 17.2
CHKP Check Point Software 152.50 133.56 14.2
BVSN BroadVision 13.44 11.81 13.8
WFII Wireless Facilities 40.88 36.25 12.8
CNET CNET Networks 17.94 16.00 12.1
SCNT Scient 3.63 3.25 11.7
AMZN Amazon.com 17.31 15.56 11.2
CM
GI CMGI 6.13 5.59 9.7
CFLO CacheFlow 18.00 17.06 5.5
VRSN VeriSign 73.50 74.19 -0.9
CSCO Cisco Systems 37.44 38.25 -2.1
PALM Palm 27.13 28.31 -4.2
SCMR Sycamore Networks 35.25 37.25 -5.4
INKT Inktomi 16.69 17.88 -6.7
ITWO i2 Technologies 50.63 54.38 -6.9
ISSX Internet Security Sys. 71.06 78.44 -9.4
JNPR Juniper Networks 105.94 126.06 -16.0
RIMM Research in Motion 65.81 80.00 -17.7
VERT VerticalNet 5.41 6.66 -18.8
TIBX TIBCO Software 37.94 47.94 -20.9
INSP InfoSpace 5.28 8.84 -40.3
VIGN Vignette 8.31 18.00 -53.8
Amazon.com Update
In Thursday’s Morning Report, I blasted Amazon.com for forcing rank-and-file employees targeted in a recently announced round of layoffs to sign non-disparagement pledges in order to get additional severance pay and benefits.
After being blasted in the media and by its own employees, AMZN has dropped the “no-talk” clause from the severance agreement being offered departing workers.
