The online brokers are not the only firms making full-service stockbrokers
miserable.
There is another group, represented mainly by StockPower
and
NetStock Direct.
They allow for
direct stock-purchase plans (DSPPs). That is, you can buy stock directly
from the company — say Dell or Yahoo!
There are many advantages to DSPPs. The commissions are usually minimal, if
not zero. You can also reinvest your dividends and set-up investment plans
(say, invest $1,000 per month and so on). By using the Web, DSPPs are
painlessly easy.
As for companies, they like the plans, too. The shareholders usually are
long-term. What’s more, the paperwork is less. Companies also have a better
idea of who their shareholders are.
This week, StockPower was able to raise $22 million (its second round). As
for NetStock Direct, it has raised $12 million.
What will they do with the money? Well, probably lots of advertising. So
don’t be surprised if you here more about this over the next year.
ISDEX
-8.57%
| ISDEX (r) | 9-Sept. | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Internet Stock Index | close | from | |
| www.isdex.com | 3-Sept. | ||
| close | |||
| ISDEX | 504.51 | 0.58% | |
| NASDAQ | 2774.62 | -2.21% | |
| DJIA | 11198.45 | 1.14% | |
| Amazon.com | AMZN | 63.63 | 1.91% |
| American Online | AOL | 96.25 | -0.58% |
| Ariba | ARBA | 143.13 | 4.38% |
| At Home | ATHM | 40 | -2.30% |
| Axent Technologies | AXNT | 13.38 | 2.92% |
| Broadcom Corp | BRCM | 125.38 | -3.97% |
| Broadvision | BVSN | 106.5 | -2.74% |
| Beyond.com Corp | BYND | 15.94 | -5.18% |
| CDNow Inc. | CDNW | 13.44 | -6.08% |
| Checkpoint Software | CHKP | 90.69 | 6.00% |
| CMGI Inc | CMGI | 87.38 | 1.31% |
| Concentric Networks | CNCX | 23.44 | 2.45% |
| CNET Inc. | CNET | 41.5 | 0.00% |
| Cisco | CSCO | 69.94 | -1.41% |
| Cybercash | CYCH | 8.44 | -4.20% |
| Doubleclick | DCLK | 101.31 | 3.50% |
| eBay | EBAY | 144.44 | 8.19% |
| E*TRADE GROUP | EGRP | 23.53 | -5.88% |
| Earthlink Networks | ELNK | 45.5 | -4.97% |
| Exodus Communications | EXDS | 77.59 | 2.51% |
| Go2Net Inc. | GNET | 66.5 | -0.46% |
| Healtheon | HLTH | 34.63 | 2.03% |
| Inktomi Corp | INKT | 124.88 | 7.89% |
| Infospace.com | INSP | 47.5 | 1.19% |
| ISS Group | ISSX | 29.25 | 17.56% |
| iVilliage Group | IVIL | 32 | |
| Juniper | JNPR | 192.19 | -0.55% |
| Lycos Inc. | LCOS | 44.13 | -1.39% |
| Mindspring | MSPG | 29 | 0.42% |
| Network Associates | NETA | 18.81 | 3.75% |
| Network Solutions | NSOL | 65.88 | 12.37% |
| Open Market Inc. | OMKT | 12.25 | 2.08% |
| Onsale Inc. | ONSL | 15.19 | 2.08% |
| Priceline.com | PCLN | 58.16 | -12.38% |
| Prodigy Comm Inc. | PRGY | 16.69 | -6.29% |
| PSINet | PSIX | 47.63 | 0.15% |
| Preview Travel | PTVL | 17.13 | 3.82% |
| RealNetworks | RNWK | 88.5 | 0.64% |
| Secure Dynamics | SDTI | 25.88 | 2.50% |
| Infoseek Corp. | SEEK | 30.75 | -0.81% |
| Security First | SONE | 40.75 | -6.06% |
| Sportsline USA | SPLN | 25.75 | 5.10% |
| StarMedia | STRM | 45.38 | 3.14% |
| 24/7 Media Inc. | TFSM | 28.94 | -20.58% |
| TicketMaster-City Search | TMCS | 23.75 | -7.34% |
| USWeb Corp | USWB | 28.06 | 22.64% |
| Verio Inc. | VRIO | 33 | -5.88% |
| Verisign Inc. | VRSN | 110.63 | 1.26% |
| Xoom.com Inc. | XMCM | 36.75 | -2.34% |
| Yahoo Inc. | YHOO | 162.69 | 4.96% |
The
latest is with Hewlett-Packard (HWP).
It’s part of HP’s new Millennium plan, in which the company gives away
hardware and software to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to bolster
e-commerce. HP makes money by revenue sharing. Starmedia also announced a
deal recently with AT&T to provide network services.
- 99.09.09 – NetObjects (NETO)
announced a deal with
Concentric Network Corp. (CNCX)
to provide hosting services to the huge NetObjects’ user base.
The
service will be free. How will money be made? By allowing users to do
e-commerce. NetObjects has two main products, one for the development of
small Web sites and another for creating corporate intranets.
The company
had its IPO this year, but came out during a bad time. Though the stock is
perking up. Also, the company is selling at a steep discount to its peers
(the market cap for NetObjects is $197 million).
Vignette (VIGN)
has a market cap of $2.28 billion and
Allaire (ALLR)
has a market cap $566 million.
- 99.09.07 – It’s called the “pre-IPO pump-up”; that is, to get
excitement for an IPO, a company will announce a huge deal — right on the
eve of the road show.
This is what Medscape has done, by signing a three
year advertising agreement with AOL for $33 million (AOL also gets
warrants).
Medscape also announced that CBS bought a 35 percent stake.
However, the online healthcare space is definitely getting very crowded.
How many of these sites do we really need?
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