Stocks rallied across the board Friday on the heels of positive economic data, helping two of the day’s three Internet IPOs go out with a bang.
internet.com’s Internet Stock Index rose 9.08, or 1.58 percent, to 585.47, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 25.87 to 2,886.51 and the Dow Jones industrial average rocketed 112.71 to 10,649.76
Two highly-anticipated Internet IPOs had a solid debut. Market research firm Jupiter Communications Inc. (JTPR) soared 14-1/2 to 35-1/2 on its opening day of trading. The company raised $65.6 million after selling 3.125 million shares at $21 each.
E-Stamp Corp. (ESTM) rocketed 5-3/8 to 22-3/8 following its debut. The online postage provider sold 7 million shares at $17.
One IPO that didn’t receive such a warm reception was VitaminShoppe.com Inc. (VSHP) which lost 1-1/4 to 9-3/4 after rising to 11-3/4 earlier in the day. The company sold 4.5 million shares at $11 each, raising about $50 million.
Elsewhere in the sector, 24/7 Media Inc. (TFSM) rose 6-7/8 to 47-3/8 on reports Doubleclick (DCLK) was considering a $1.5 billion buyout of 24/7. Doubleclick shares rose 4-3/4 to 136-5/8.
Amazon.com Corp. (AMZN) rose 1-15/16 to 89-1/4. The company Friday introduced a new gift registry system.
The rest of the sector’s leaders were higher with Inktomi Corp. (INKT) up 7-1/8 to 129-7/8, Net2Phone (NTOP) climbing 3-9/16 to 57-1/4 and Ariba Inc. (ARBA) jumping 10-1/2 to 177.
Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN) climbed 1-1/4 to 73-3/4 after the “name-your-price” provider of airline tickets, hotel rooms and mortgages was rated a “strong buy” by Morgan Stanley’s Henry McVey who initiated coverage Friday.
Mortgage.com Inc. (MDCM) closed up 1/8 to 11-1/4 after announcing its third-quarter revenues would be slightly more than $12 million, up 25 to 28 percent from last year.
Also in the e-finance sector, Charles Schwab Corp. (SCH) lost 2-3/16 to 33-9/16 after McVey downgraded the stock to a “neutral” from “outperform.”
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