PC Quote's president and chief operating officer resigns.
Howard Meltzer abruptly resigned to pursue other interests, according to the company. His duties will be assumed by Jim Porter, its newly named CEO. No plans are in the works to fill Meltzer's position.
The company, facing growing competition from a number of other online trading sites, had earlier planned to sell its core business, non-Internet-based quotations, to Track Data. The non-Internet quotations business had been costing the company more to operate than the revenues it was bringing in, chairman Lou Morgan said in an earlier interview.
But last month that deal fell through, leaving PC Quote trying to find ways to make "substantial" cost reductions and find other strategic partners.
PC Quote, which reported a first-quarter loss of $1.9 million on flat revenue growth of $4.1 million, has seen a number of players enter its space, such as discount brokerage firms like Charles Schwab and E*Trade. Brokerage firm Robertson Stephens also is planning to add online trading on its site by the end of the year. The company also has been hurt by the loss of two key accounts as it changed its product mix.