Stock Watch: Buy.com Continues Decline

The initial public offering of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce software company webMethods (Nasdaq: WEBM) got off to a scorching start on Friday, recording one of the top first-day performances in history by closing up a stunning 177-5/8 to 212-5/8. The 507.5 percentage gain was the best first-day performance in 2000, and the fourth-best first-day performance of all-time. What makes this performance even more impressive is that webMethods priced its 4.1-million-share IPO at $35 a share, more than triple the original range of $11 to $13.

Investors are viewing webMethods, which develops XML-based software that helps companies manage their supply chain, as a leader in the red-hot business-to-business sector. The company has partnerships with industry leaders including Dell Computer (which is an investor in and customer of webMethods), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), Ariba, SAP (NYSE: SAP) and EDS. WebMethod's IPO success also reinforces Dell's position as an emerging venture capital force. Like many older technology companies such as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Dell is benefiting greatly from its investments in Internet companies.