Egghead.com shares rise on survey results

Shares of Egghead closed up 4.31 to 15.88, after reaching a high of 23.88 earlier in the day during heavy trading on the Nasdaq.

The online retailer of new and surplus computer products is among the top 10 e-commerce sites for the week ending Dec. 19 with more than 1.1 million estimated unique visitors, according to a recent Media Metrix survey. The report also indicated that Egghead ranked as the sixth-largest audience gainer for the week, rising 42 percent compared to the previous three weeks.

The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said with the increase in Internet traffic, Egghead has become more than an online technology store; it is also a destination where technology buyers learn about, compare and select the products they need to run their businesses. As a result, nearly half of the company's gross profit now comes from sources other than product sales, such as ad revenues and revenues from partnership deals, the company said in a statement.

Last month, the company announced the completion of its merger with Net auctioneer Onsale. Before the merger, the two companies faced the prospect of competing on their own against Amazon.com, as the Internet retailing giant invaded each of their niches. Amazon now sells consumer electronics and offers auctions, and recently encroached even further by offering software.

Egghead, which now also sells consumer electronics, sporting goods and vacation packages, predicts a 45 to 50 percent increase in revenue in the year 2000, and 35 to 40 percent revenue growth the year after. It also expects to reach profitability at the beginning of 2002.