CNet Honcho Solidifies Yahoo!'s Ranks

See Dan. See Dan run CNet (CNET) - Get Report. Run CNet, Dan! Now see Dan run to Yahoo! (YHOO) . See Dan run Yahoo!! Will Yahoo!'s stock run, too?

For the benefit of our younger readers, that's the big news on the Internet this morning.

Yahoo!, looking for a president and chief operating officer to replace longtime COO Jeff Mallett, announced Wednesday it had hired one of the few veteran executives still standing among advertising-supported Internet sites: Dan Rosensweig, president of technology news and information company CNet Networks.

The news marks the near-complete transition of Yahoo!'s executive team from the people who brought the Internet company and made it famous to a group that, in less giddy times, is attempting a slow-and-steady comeback to Yahoo!'s former, glorious valuation and profitability.

The news, with uncertain implications for CNet, comes as Lehman Brothers analyst Holly Becker, an early bear on Yahoo! and subsequently an early bull, raised her price target on the stock, saying the stock's current price doesn't reflect the possible benefits of a revived advertising market and the effect of Yahoo!'s current raft of money-making initiatives.

In morning trading, Yahoo!'s shares rose 83 cents, to $15, while CNet's fell 18 cents to $4.81.

Rosensweig, who will start at Yahoo! May 13, joins execs such as CEO Terry Semel, who replaced longtime CEO Tim Koogle last year, and Chief Financial Officer Sue Decker, who took over from Gary Valenzuela the year before. In January, Mallett laid out his plans to leave this month.

Before joining CNet, Rosensweig was CEO of ZDnet, an online technology company competing with CNet which CNet acquired in 2000. Rosensweig had spent about 15 years at the Ziff-Davis technology publishing company prior to moving to the Internet.

Over the past few months, Semel has focused on finding new revenue sources for Yahoo! to bolster the ad dollars upon which the company has traditionally relied. Those initiatives include the purchase of career firm

HotJobs.com

and Internet access deals with

SBC Communications

(SBC)

.

CNet, of course, is facing its own problems. Clobbered by the double bursting bubbles of technology spending and Internet advertising, the company has seen its shares fall more than 85% over the past two years.

According to Becker's report Wednesday, the market hasn't fully taken into account the possible gains for Yahoo!'s stock if it hits a home run with one of the initiatives, or if the Internet advertising market picks up. Meanwhile, she says that Yahoo!'s potential as an acquisition target limits the downside risk.

Becker, who has a buy on the stock, raised her price target from $13 to $18. Her firm hasn't done underwriting for the company.