While the movie The Phantom Menace got big draw on the big screen, second quarter for
Internet stocks had its own menace, interest rate fears. But that didn’t stop the two hottest sectors, broadband and infrastructure, from leading ISDEX in results.
First, a reminder of the top. From the April peaks the stocks were off as much as 50% until just a few weeks ago when interest
in the Internet rekindled. Now that second quarter ended, however, it’s worth a look at which stocks took the licking and kept
on ticking and which simply got licked.
The table telleth all:
| ISDEX ® | % change | ||
| The Internet Stock Index | close | from | |
| internet.com | 31-Mar-99 | ||
| ISDEX | 554.15 | 1.3% | |
| NASDAQ | 2,686.12 | 9.1% | |
| DJIA | 10,970.80 | 12.1% | |
| BRCM | $ 144.56 | 135% | |
| EXDS | $ 119.94 | 78% | |
| VRIO | $ 69.50 | 51% | |
| INKT | $ 131.50 | 48% | |
| GNET | $ 91.88 | 39% | |
| EGRP | $ 39.94 | 37% | |
| CNET | $ 57.63 | 25% | |
| CHKPF | $ 53.63 | 25% | |
| CMGI | $ 114.06 | 25% | |
| BVSN | $ 73.75 | 23% | |
| SONE | $ 45.13 | 23% | |
| CSCO | $ 64.44 | 18% | |
| PTVL | $ 21.94 | 15% | |
| SDTI | $ 21.25 | 14% | |
| VOCLF | $ 12.50 | 14% | |
| BCST | $ 133.56 | 13% | |
| RNWK | $ 68.88 | 13% | |
| VRSN | $ 86.25 | 12% | |
| EBAY | $ 151.38 | 10% | |
| OMKT | $ 14.19 | 10% | |
| INSP | $ 47.00 | 10% | |
| BYND | $ 28.69 | 10% | |
| CDNW | $ 17.63 | 9% | |
| LCOS | $ 91.88 | 7% | |
| CNCX | $ 39.75 | 6% | |
| MSPG | $ 44.31 | 3% | |
| PSIX | $ 43.75 | 3% | |
| ELNK | $ 61.44 | 2% | |
| YHOO | $ 172.25 | 2% | |
| DCLK | $ 91.75 | 1% | |
| ISSX | $ 37.75 | -5% | |
| CYCH | $ 12.81 | -9% | |
| TMCS | $ 30.25 | -10% | |
| SPLN | $ 35.88 | -21% | |
| XMCM | $ 52.38 | -22% | |
| AOL | $ 110.00 | -25% | |
| NSOL | $ 79.13 | -25% | |
| TFSM | $ 38.50 | -25% | |
| AMZN | $ 125.13 | -27% | |
| ATHM | $ 53.94 | -32% | |
| PRGY | $ 25.88 | -33% | |
| SEEK | $ 47.94 | -35% | |
| EGGS | $ 11.19 | -38% | |
| ONSL | $ 18.94 | -44% | |
| USWB | $ 22.19 | -46% | |
| COOL | $ 9.94 | -50% | |
| IVIL | $ 50.25 | -50% | |
| NETA | $ 14.69 | -52% | |
| AXNT | $ 11.13 | -54% | |
| STRM | $ 64.13 |
First let’s talk about the top. Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) proved that even with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)
moving into network chips that it could maintain its lead in the broadband chip market. It debuted its skills at the cable
industry’s biggest trade show and demonstrated a chip to make cable wires run faster with Internet. Broadcom followed that
with its Very-High-Speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) for telephone wires. Note the speed: VDSL data rates ranging from
0 to 52 Megabits per seconds (Mbps) in either asymmetric or fully symmetric modes. Investors noticed as BRCM shares sped
up, gained 135% the period March 31 to June 30.
Exodus (NASDAQ:EXDS) came in second in runs in 2Q with a 78% rise. Fueling the move was a series of buys from
a slew of investment banks with the underlying commitment of Exodus to have 9 additional or 21 total Internet data centers
operational globally this year.
Verio (NASDAQ:VRIO) moved up 51% on it hitting a milestone 250,000 Web sites hosted by the e-commerce
service provider (Web hosting with the ‘ka-ching’ factor). Similarly, Inktomi (NASDAQ:INKT – news) reinforced its position
as the wholesaler of search and speed (caching) with a dose of shopping engine thrown in.
Ok, now the other side of the Force. The Dark Side.
Network Associates (NASDAQ:NETA) has not recovered from its devastating accounting guffaw. Best thing that
could happen to NETA now is a takeover, based on pure valuation of its sales and reach. Consolidate the channel and
pasteurize the books.
iVillage (NASDAQ:IVIL) , down 50% in 2Q. Ouch! Competition from Oxygen Media (which just received an
investment from Paul Allen) and a new one, Women.com (from Hearst) which is going public, may have hurt IVIL. Still, with so
little movement in the women Web space I think there’s room for three. A long road to go but we’ll see.
With the Fed rate increase and neutral stance on inflation the stock market may be poised to find renewed bullishness in third
and fourth quarter, especially as (and if) better-than-expected results come out of 2Q earnings/revenue or narrowed losses.
Are we ready for a prequel?
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