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CNNfn tech stock report
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November 16, 1998: 4:21 p.m. ET
Internet stocks heat up again as Lycos gets boost from analyst's rating
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A late-day surge lifted technology stocks higher after a mostly sluggish day of trading Monday as investors continued heavy buying in the Internet sector.
Internet stocks soared last week, highlighted by a pair of wildly successful initial public offerings and huge surges among more established players.
"Fear and greed," was how David Readerman, analyst at NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, summed up last week's Internet buying spree.
"Fear of being left out of the Internet sector, and greed because you have [investors] trying to short these stocks."
Though it looked as if many Internet stocks would cool off Monday, much of the sector got a boost from Web portal Lycos Inc. (LCOS), which jumped 8-5/8 to close at 59-5/8 after Merrill Lynch's Jonathan Cohen upgraded his rating to "near-term buy" from "near-term accumulate."
That news pushed other portal companies higher. Excite Inc. (XCIT) rose 1-3/4 to 51-3/16; Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) climbed 5-1/4 to 173-1/4; and Infoseek Corp. (SEEK) gained 2 to 33-3/4.
Elsewhere in the sector, online auctioneer eBay Inc. (EBAY) crept out of negative territory to close up 3-23/32 at 127-21/32, while Internet bookseller Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) fell 1-1/2 to 126-1/4.
Last week's IPO darlings gave back some of their gains. theglobe.com Inc. (TGLO) plunged 14-3/4 to 48-3/4, while EarthWeb (EWBX) fell 4-7/8 to 62-1/8.
Among chip companies, Intel Corp. (INTC) rose 3-1/8 to a new 52-week high of 106-7/8 after the company announced it will continue its aggressive cost-cutting programs to boost profits.
Micron Technology Inc. (MU), however, slipped 1-5/8 to 42-7/8 after Gruntal & Co. lowered its rating to a "buy" from "strong buy."
In the software sector, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) shares dropped 1-3/16 to 108-13/16 as the government began week five of its antitrust trial by showing more excerpts from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' videotaped deposition.
Elsewhere, Oracle Corp. (ORCL) slumped 25/32 to 32-13/32, Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) fell 2-11/16 to 31-15/16, but Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) rose 2-27/32 to 80-3/4.
Among computer companies, Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) rose 9/16 to 34-1/8 after unveiling of a new PC equipped with a high-speed digital modem.
Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) slipped 13/16 to 63-1/8, while Gateway Inc. (GTW) climbed 1-1/2 to 54-3/8. 
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