Net Stocks Rise but Dollar's Retreat Tempers Enthusiasm
Dollar weakness and a soft Treasury market were keeping Internet-sector gains in check at midafternoon.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 5.92, or 1%, at 601.33 after trading as high as 607.41.
Among stocks of note,
Red Hat
undefined
remained red hot, up 7, or 6%, at 123 3/4. But note that after reaching an all-time high of 135 1/4 around 3 p.m. Wednesday, the stock settled at 116 3/4.
TSC's
own
James Cramer
took a look at Red Hat's performance in a
piece Thursday.
A partnership with Red Hat was boosting
Unify
(UNFY)
, a provider of software solutions for e-commerce. The company said it was extending its partnership with Red Hat by certifying two recently announced Internet products for use with Red Hat's Linux operating system. Unify was up 5, or 30%, at 21 3/4.
TheStreet Recommends
Also, there were rumors on
Jagnotes.com
that
Goldman Sachs
(GS)
would buy for $30 per share the portion of
Wit Capital Group
undefined
that it does not already own. Goldman currently owns 20% of Wit Capital. Wit was up 3 11/16, or 21%, at 20 7/8 on the rumor.
Like Red Hat, a number of other stocks that have attracted the market's fancy of late also continued their one-way trip higher.
China.com
undefined
was up 8 3/8, or 13%, at 71 1/16, while
Internet Initiative Japan
undefined
was up 10 7/8, or 14%, at 89.
But other recent highfliers were seeing profit-taking after some huge run-ups.
Globespan
undefined
, which has more than doubled over the past week, was down 14 3/16, or 13%, at 96 3/16.
Phone.com
undefined
was down 4 5/16, or 2.5%, at 164 1/16.
Also on the downside was Internet advertiser
24/7 Media
undefined
, off 4 7/8, or 14%, at 30 1/2. The stock was weak on a note by
Merrill Lynch
analyst Henry Blodget. Blodget wrote that after a conversation with management last night, he expected to make "a significantly higher-than-expected cut in EPS" due to recent acquisitions the company has made. Though he did not provide revised numbers, Blodget previously was expecting a loss of $1.45 for 1999 and a 70-cent loss for 2000.
"We are discouraged by the magnitude of the increased losses over the next two years (at least 3X and as much as 5X our current loss-per-share estimate). The investments are in promising areas, however, and they should strengthen the franchise long term," Blodget wrote.
