Internet stocks have been on a wild ride in the past week, with huge losses followed by fantastic gains, sometimes in the same day.
But when the smoke cleared in the week of trading concluded Wednesday, internet.com’s Internet Stock Index ended up almost exactly where it started. The ISDEX closed Wednesday’s session at 606.3, down almost imperceptibly from the Oct. 18 close of 607. For the year, the ISDEX is off a slightly more perceptible 29.5%.
The Nasdaq, meanwhile, edged up 1.8% to 3229 in the week ended Wednesday.
Technology news and content provider Cnet Networks was the top performer on the ISDEX, gaining 52% on the strength of a Q3 earnings report that beat street estimates. CNET posted a third-quarter loss of $43.6 million, or 50 cents per share. However, excluding amortization of goodwill and costs of writing down
the value of a number of acquisitions, CNET had a net profit of $6.2 million, or 7 cents per share. Consensus forecasts called for a net profit of 4 cents per share.
Ticketmaster Online-Citysearch climbed 36.4% on news that it is considering possible deals with USA Networks subsidiary Ticketmaster.
Internet streaming multimedia software provider RealNetworks partially rebounded from its recent freefall, gaining 24.7% for the week. Still, RNWK shares were down 53.3% for the month through Wednesday.
Two wireless companies, InfoSpace and Aether Systems
, gained 23.1% and 29.1%, respectively, as investors continue to show support for the emerging wireless sector.
The biggest loser on the ISDEX this week was Internet consulting firm MarchFIRST , which plummeted 59.4%. MRCH surprised investors with a Q3 report showing net income of $2 million, or 1 cent per share. Analysts had expected a net profit of 20 cents per share.