Broadcast.com Shares Soar Again

Shares of Broadcast.com leaped again Monday, jumping 87 1/2 to 285, after the company announced an upcoming 2-for-1 stock split. The company was among the stand-outs in another winning day on Wall Street for the Internet sector.

The stock split will be completed on Feb. 11.

This is the fourth straight day shares of Broadcast.com (BCST), which aggregates and distributes streaming audio and video via the Internet, have scored massive gains. The original move was attributed to a presentation given by company's management at a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter technology conference, which was closed to the media.

As recently as last Tuesday, the stock was trading in the 70s. In the past three sessions, the stock has gained 30-plus points, and the company is now valued at about $4.3 billion.

For the first nine months of 1998, the company notched sales of $11.5 million and a loss of $10.5 million, compared to sales of $4.5 million and a loss of $4.4 million the year-ago period.

Last Friday, Nasdaq said in a statement that it had asked Broadcast.com to "issue a public statement specifying any corporate developments that may explain unusual trading activity in the company's stock."

In response to Nasdaq's request, Dallas-based Broadcast.com stated that it was company policy not to comment on unusual market activity, Nasdaq said.

Phil Leigh, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates, told CBS.MarketWatch.com on Friday that the company didn't make any specific announcements at the Morgan Stanley conference, but investors recognized that the company holds a leadership position in broadcasting sound and video over the Internet.

"People are beginning to recognize that the Internet is moving to 'telepresence,' a higher form of teleconferencing, which will ultimately permit users to meet and interact in a virtual-reality environment," Leigh said.

Benefiting a great deal from the recent run-up are the company's co-founders, President Mark Cuban and Chief Executive Todd Wagner. At the time of the company's $18-a-share IPO last summer, Cuban and Wagner together held about 44 percent of the company.

Late last year, Cuban was adding to his already significant stake. "I bought more stock because I want to own as much as I can afford," Cuban wrote in an e-mail at the time. "I can't be any more excited about our business."

Written By Darren Chervitz, CBS MarketWatch