Commerce One Has Issues, and Stock Price Continues Descent
Updated from 3:10 PM EDT
Shares of
Commerce One
(CMRC)
shed 17.4%, or 82 cents, to close at $3.89 Friday, adding to Thursday's 15.4% loss in the stock.
The failing market for online exchanges, an executive's departure, an initial failure to get shareholder approval to change its corporate structure and jitters over its biggest partnership all weighed on the shares.
On Thursday, the company announced that President Robert Kimmitt would leave to take a position at
AOL-Time Warner
(AOL)
, but remain on Commerce One's board. Tuesday, the company said it had adjourned its annual shareholder meeting without getting approval of a structural change that would transform Commerce One into a holding company, but would reconvene it later this month. The change is seen as crucial to Commerce One maintaining an equity stake in
Covisint
, the big online exchange launched by the auto industry.
Finally, analysts said Commerce One had low visibility at an
SAP
(SAP) - Get Report
conference this week. Commerce One derives nearly a third of its revenue from its partnership with the German software maker.