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CNNfn Market Movers
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December 22, 1998: 2:30 p.m. ET
Investors rush the cyber-aisles of iMALL, sending shares surging 89%
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A landmark alliance between a telecommunications giant and one of the Internet's largest virtual malls sparked a real-world buying frenzy on Wall Street Tuesday as investors skipped the window-shopping and headed straight for the cashier.
Shares of e-commerce emporium iMALL Inc. (IMAL), soared 10-3/4 on the Nasdaq to a record high of 22-7/8 - a stunning 88.66 percent spike - after the company said it had reached an agreement with AT&T Corp. to offer the telecom's WorldNet Internet service subscribers discounts on Stuff.com, iMall's recently launched online shopping portal.
The companies said current and future subscribers to WorldNet, a leading Internet service provider with 1.3 million subscribers, will be eligible for as much as $20 in annual discounts at Stuff.com. AT&T (T) stock was off 5.8 at 73-9/16 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday.
As investors rushed iMALL's cyber-aisles, the consumer contagion spread to another red-hot e-commerce issue, uBid, an online auctioneer that embarked on its second straight rally Tuesday. uBid stock surged 36-3/4 to 120-7/8, a 43.68 percent leap.
The merriment across the Internet sector found a melancholic counterpoint elsewhere on the Nasdaq, where investors signaled their displeasure with a ratings downgrade by drilling into shares of Monarch Dental Corp. (MDDS).
Shares of the owner and manager of dental group practices hit a raw nerve Tuesday, tanking 4-5/8, or 53.62 percent, to 4 after Raymond James, a brokerage firm, said it had lowered its rating on the company's stock to 'neutral' from 'buy'.
Earlier, Monarch had warned its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings would fall shy of analysts' estimates.
A similarly downbeat earnings outlook - this one from the Atlanta-based professional staffing company Acsys Inc. (ACSY) - triggered a stampede Tuesday out of that company's stock.
Acsys shares plummeted 3-1/8, or 52.63 percent, to 2-13/16 on the Nasdaq after announcing that it expected to report fourth-quarter diluted earnings of 5 cents to 7 cents, below analysts' expectations. The company said in a statement that permanent placement revenues had declined significantly and unexpectedly from prior-quarter levels.
The loss of a major customer sent shares of Atlantic Data Services Inc. (ADSC) plunging to a new 52-week low. The information-technology firm said the customer, National City Corp., which accounted for 21.6 percent, or $7.7 million, of Atlantic data's $35.6 million in sales revenues in the last half-year, would not extend its contract into next year. Analysts said the reason for the termination appeared to be due to internal factors at National City.
Atlantic Data stock was off 5-15/16, or 40.87 percent, at 7-11/16 on relatively heavy Nasdaq volume of 915,700 shares. The company's average daily volume is just below 60,000 shares.
On the New York Stock Exchange, Park Electrochemical, a maker of printed circuit boards, saw its stock jump nearly 21 percent Tuesday afternoon after the company walloped Wall Street's third-quarter earnings expectations of 14 cents a share.
Park (PKE) posted net income of $4.25 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, down from $7 million, or 56 cents a diluted share a year earlier.
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