Internet stocks sizzle and fizzle in 1996 according to Mecklermedia's Internet Stock Index.

WESTPORT, CT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 3, 1997--Mecklermedia Corporation's (NASDAQ: MECK) Internet Stock Index (ISDEX), the leading pure play composite that tracked more than 25 stocks for the year, reveals that a handful of Internet stocks ended 1996 with gains ranging from 27% to 77%. But a majority lost value as the industry experienced the expected shakeout across the board from access to utility software. As a whole, ISDEX lost 38% of its value in 1996 as Wall Street burst the bubble of sky-high values that endured for much of the past 18 months until a market correction hit in summer 1996.

"1996 was the year that the movers and shakers with staying power separated themselves from the moved and shaken," said Mecklermedia vice president of business development and senior investment analyst Steve Harmon. "It's those companies that Wall Street wants less hype and more results from."

The handful of winners for the year included content, security and commerce companies. C/NET (CNWK) posted a spectacular year-end rally, up more than 24% in the three final trading sessions of 1996. With that, C/NET led ISDEX gainers, rising a total 77% to $28.25 per share since its July 2, 1996 initial public offering (IPO) price. With security and hackers on the hot list, leading firewall software maker CheckPoint Software (CHKPF) zoomed from its IPO on June 28, 1996 with a 58% run to $22.13 per share December 31. Rival firewall software maker Raptor (RAPT) also posted strong upside with a 35% gain to $20.25 per share from its IPO price. Search engine Yahoo! (YHOO) made bold forays into print and international sites rising 32% to $17.13 per share from its IPO price. Leading Internet trade show and magazine publisher, Mecklermedia (MECK), which also produces the iWORLD Web site and ISDEX, rounded out the list of leaders, with a 27% increase in 1996 to $20.25 per share on December 31, 1996.

ISDEX is featured in iWORLD's Internet Daily Stock Report on the Web each business day at http://netday.iworld.com/stocks . Internet Daily Stock Report readership includes Microsoft's Bill Gates, Netscape's Marc Andreessen, Yahoo!'s Jerry Yang, Kleiner Perkins' John Doerr, Wall Street investment bankers, venture capitalists, retail investors, and thousands of Internet, media and technology executives and entrepreneurs across the globe.

Mecklermedia Corporation, based in Westport, Connecticut, is the leading provider of Internet information through its publications Internet World, Web Week, Web Developer, Internet Shopper, its Internet World trade shows, and iWORLD, its electronic daily newspaper of Internet news and information, located at http://www.iworld.com . Mecklermedia's global presence includes Internet World trade shows and licensed publications throughout Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, South America, Asia, and Australia.

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