Shares of ad network DoubleClick Inc. rose 23 percent Friday
after the company said it plans a 2-for-1 stock split.
New York City-based DoubleClick surged 24 9/16 to a new 52-week high of 131,
in trading of 6.7 million shares. DoubleClick first sold shares to the public
at $17 each in February 1998.
DoubleClick plans a split on April 2 for shareholders of record as of March
22.
Other Internet companies such as Amazon.com and eBay have seen their shares
soar after declaring splits. In what analysts term a self-fulfilling prophesy,
investors have snapped up shares after the announcements on the belief that
they’ll soar following the split. Shareholders still hold the same percentage
of the company’s stock.