eBay Surges While Rest of the Net Takes a Rest

The Net sector was flat to lower Friday following Thursday's sharp rally in tech stocks.

TheStreet.com Internet Sector index was off 1 at 1332. The Nasdaq Composite Index, whose push past 5000 sparked a 3.5% jump in Net stocks Thursday, was up 32 at 5079.

Net/Tech Indices INDEX CHANGE % VALUE TSC Internet Sector 1.01 -0.08% 1332.21 TSC E-Commerce 0.32 -0.30% 107.36 TSC E-Finance 2.89 +3.61% 82.95 Nasdaq 32.71 +0.65% 5079.57

CNet (CNET) edged down 4, or 6%, to 64 7/8 on an announcement that CEO Halsey Minor would step down to pursue an Internet incubator project. Vice Chairman Shelby Bonnie was named CEO, while Minor will continue as chairman.

The sector's bellwethers were mostly lower, led by Amazon.com (AMZN) and Yahoo! (YHOO), both off around 3%. Internet incubator CMGI (CMGI) was off 3 7/8, or 3%, at 141 1/2 despite better-than-expected second-quarter results. CMGI said Thursday evening it expected to sell shares of its AltaVista portal unit in April.

E-commerce was getting a boost from reports regarding eBay (EBAY). The auctioneer's stock was up 17 3/8, or 10%, at 199 7/8 after the company said would consider a partnership with FedEx parent FDX (FDX).

Some gains came from smaller Net names. Recent new issue Lante (LNTE) got a boost from Credit Suisse First Boston, which started coverage with a buy rating. The e-consultancy, which went public on Feb. 11, was up 4 1/2, or almost 7%, at 73.

Credit Suisse First Boston also started coverage of e-learning company Lightspan (LSPN), with a strong buy and a price target of 28. Lightspan was up 2 3/8, or 11%, at 24 1/4.

Rambus' (RMBS) shares were up 45 35/64, or 12%, at 425 on news that the board of the chipmaker had approved a 4-for-1 stock split. Quest Software (QSFT) was also up on news of a 2-for-1 stock split and a 4.2 million-share secondary offering, which was priced at 140 a share. The stock was up 18 1/2, or 13%, at 161 3/4.

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