An Underwhelming Day for Overture Services

Shares in Overture Services(OVER Quote) fell as much as 23% Wednesday, following a report that the pay-for-placement Internet search engine didn't renew a contract with one of its affiliates.

Though the size of the contract doesn't seem huge, and though Overture has announced deals to add new business in recent days, investors may have the jitters about the company's valuation, as well as about the threat to Overture's growth from a competitor that's a polar opposite: Google, a search engine with a reputation for returning results that are singularly objective and difficult for third parties to influence.

At midday, Overture Services -- previously known as GoTo.com -- was trading at $24.61, down $5.81. In 2001, as one of the few advertising-based Internet companies to be reporting happy news, the company's stock nearly quintupled, rising from $7.31 to $35.43. ...