IBM Charges Higher, and Other Boxmakers Follow

Dell rises on Big Blue's earnings and favorable analyst comments; Net stocks suffer some profit-taking.

Author:: David Shabelman
Publish date:: Apr 22, 1999 6:06 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO -- Computer makers were among the big winners Thursday, thanks in part to IBM's (IBM) - Get Report stellar earnings report. Net stocks, however, had a rocky session.

Big Blue charged 22 5/8 higher, or 13%, to 194 1/2, accounting for 105 of the Dow's 145-point gain.

Other boxmakers also benefited from IBM's report.

Dell

(DELL) - Get Report

, which also gained on positive comments from

U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray

analyst Ashok

Kumar, closed up 3 7/16, or 9%, at 41 7/8. Also,

Gateway

(GTW)

finished up 3 15/16, or 6%, at 69 15/16, ahead of its earnings

report.

The Nasdaq's 72-point gain helped push it within striking distance of its all-time highs. But for tech stocks, the session did not have the feel of one of those out-of-control days that has characterized the sector recently.

Internet stocks, meanwhile, had a rocky session. Solid earnings reports from a number of companies lifted the stocks early, though many fell prey to late profit-taking.

CNET

(CNET) - Get Report

closed up 13 1/4, or 11%, at 133 after reporting solid earnings and a 2-for-1 stock split. But that was far from its session high of 155. Shares of

Go2Net

(GNET)

met some heavy profit-taking despite the company having the same double-dose of good news with its earnings and a 2-for-1 split. Sellers emerged when the stock reached a high of 199, which was up more than 20 points from Wednesday. It fell 40 points below its high to a low of 159 before settling down 10 15/16, or 6%, at 167 13/16.

Profit-takers also stepped in after

Network Solutions

(NSOL)

traded above the 100 level. It traded to a high of 104 11/16 on the heels of positive earnings, but dipped to a low of 77 before closing down 8 9/16, or 9%, at 83 7/16. On Wednesday, the stock gained 32 points.

Also on the earnings front, but with a happier ending, was

Net.B@nk

(NTBK)

. The company reported earnings of 9 cents a share, which was in line with estimates from

First Call

. But investors apparently were enamored with news that Net.B@nk had actually turned a profit for the quarter of $691,000 vs. a loss in the first quarter of last year. It ended up 34 15/16, or 24%, at 182 7/16.

Following its earnings report,

Beyond.com

(BYND) - Get Report

was upgraded by

Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette

to buy from market perform with a $50 price target. It closed up 5, or 18%, at 32 1/8.

Finally,

Exodus Communications

(EXDS)

, another of the strong earnings group, closed up 19 13/16, or 24%, at 103 13/16. The gains were helped by an upgrade from

Furman Selz, ING Barings

to strong buy from buy.