Nets Gain As Nasdaq Gives Up Ground

Internet stocks slipped lower from their midday levels but still finished
in the black despite Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s ongoing concern over the economy’s rapid pace at a morning speech at Boston College.

internet.com’s Internet Stock Index jumped 19.68, or 1.88 percent, to
1,067.96, the Nasdaq Composite lost 9.94 to 4904.85 and the Dow Jones
industrial average was off 199.80 to 10167.40.

The day’s movers included Homestore.com (HOMS), gaining 2-1/2 to 64-1/2. Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget raised his near-term rating on the online real estate site from “accumulate” to “buy.”

“The stock is trading 50 percent below its high, in part as a result
of the release of pre-IPO shareholder lock-ups, which will continue through
April…the fundamental outlook continues to improve: we believe
there is significant upside to our Q1 and 2000 revenue estimates…the
company is still the industry leader in a big category, and we regard the
stock as a core holding” wrote Blodget in a note to clients.

shopnow (SPNW)
rose 2-1/2 to 19-11/16. Paine Webber started coverage with a “buy” rating
and 12-month price target of $30 per share.

Terra Networks (TRRA)
also added 2-1/2, finishing the day at 113-1/2 after announcing a free
Internet access service initiative in Mexico.

Among the leaders, Broadcom Corp. (BRCM)
was up 2-7/8 to 235-3/4, Broadvision
Inc. (BVSN)
gained 11-3/8 to 272, CNET Inc. (CNET) added 2-5/8 to 70-9/16 and eBay Inc. (EBAY) rose 12 to 161-1/2.

Juniper Networks (JNPR)
gained 6-3/16 to 270-5/8, Lycos Inc. (LCOS)
rose 5 to 65, Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN)
soared 15-3/16 higher to 90-3/16 and Yahoo!
Inc. (YHOO) was up 13-9/16 to 171-9/16.

Internet Capital Group Inc. (ICGE)
jumped 23-3/16 to 142-1/4. The company this week is holding the first analyst meeting since going public. Also, Robertson Stephens raised its rating on the Net incubator to “strong buy” from “buy,” setting a $250, 18-month price target.

Shares of Freeserve PLC (FREE)
plunged 25-3/4 to 130-5/8 on news that AltaVista has launched a free
Internet service in the UK.

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