SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) -- Internet stocks tacked on healthy gains Monday as bellwethers Amazon.com Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. each posted gains of more than 2%.
Meanwhile, shares of Akamai Technologies Inc. stood out with a 3% increase tied to a brokerage upgrade.
The Dow Jones Internet Index moved up 1% to 94.71, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.93 points to 2,312.41.
Google Inc. , Yahoo Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. shares were each last trading to the upside by 2%.
Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy wrote in a note to investors that valuations for Internet stocks, especially those with large market capitalizations, have come down significantly and are approaching a bottom as a result of a seasonal correction in advance of expectations for a slow summer.
The analyst pointed out that Yahoo is trading at its lowest valuation since the dotcom bust, and should be one of the principle beneficiaries of large consumer brands shifting their advertising dollars onto the Web.
Akamai shares rose as much as 3% to $29.26. Morgan Joseph upgraded the company's shares to buy and raised its price target to $32 from $27, citing a new growth cycle in the company's core content-delivery network business as well as new sales from its application-accelerator product.
Also higher, VeriSign Inc.'s shares rose 1.5% to $23.57 as the company said it would acquire m-Qube, a mobile technology company specializing in content delivery, billing and messaging.
The acquisition, valued at $250 million net of cash, comes on the heels of VeriSign's recent purchases of wireless-technology companies 3united and Kontiki.
Wedbush Morgan wrote in a note to investors that the m-Qube acquisition further aligns the company's mobile strategy with its Internet infrastructure strategy.
In other sector movers, CNet Networks Inc. shares rose more than 3%.
And among Chinese Internet stocks, Sina Corp. shares rose more than 5%. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.
© 2006 AFX News
