LOWER-PRICE NET SERVICE FIRM REBOUNDS.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer WESTLAKE VILLAGE - Shares of Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. United Online Inc. jumped nearly 8 percent Wednesday after an analyst upgraded his recommendation on the eve On the Eve (Накануне in Russian) is the third novel by famous Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, best known for his short stories and the novel Fathers and Sons. of the company's earnings release. The Westlake Village-based company's stock closed at $15.34, up $1.11 or 7.8 percent, on heavy volume of 1.4 million shares. That's nearly twice the average daily volume of 806,600 shares. The run-up came after analyst Youseff Squali at First Albany Corp. in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. elevated his rating on the stock to ``strong buy'' from ``buy.'' He also increased his target price for the stock to $21 from $19. United Online, which offers value-priced Internet access through its NetZero, Juno and BlueLight Internet brands, is scheduled to report second quarter fiscal 2003 results today. The company is expected to beat the 17 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. consensus of four analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call. Squali, in his research report, wrote that he expects United Online to report a strong quarter today and issue an enhanced forecast for the year. ``We remain very enthusiastic about (the company's) outlook and growing momentum,'' he wrote. He expects revenue to increase 35 percent - to $264 million - for the fiscal year that will end June 30. Full-year earnings per share should be 83 cents, compared with a loss of 65 cents the previous year. This is quite a turnaround for a company severely pummeled during the dot-com implosion implosion /im·plo·sion/ (im-plo´zhun) see flooding. im·plo·sion n. 1. of the late 1990s. The company began as a free service provider that relied on advertising for revenue. Some free service is still available, but un major players like Earthlink, AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. and MSN. Ned P. Zacher, an analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWPG), often shortened to just TWP or TWeisel, is a U.S. middle-market and growth focused investment banking firm based in San Francisco, California. in New York, gives management high marks for the company's improved performance. And United Online is finally finding its way in the marketplace. ``They have discovered a sustainable business model, and they are executing well,'' he said. United Online officials could not be reached for comment. |
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