Internet audio and video broadcaster Broadcast.com looked to capitalize on Friday’s huge gains by announcing a 2-for-1 stock split, which in turn help fuel another massive rally. After the company confirmed plans for the split following Friday’s gain of $65.50, its shares took off for the stratosphere, surging another 44%, or $87.5625, to close at $285.06. The company’s shares, which had been hovering at or below the $100 level for weeks, have now tripled in value since Thursday. Monday’s volume was 1.9 million, nearly six times the stock’s daily average. Analysts point to a presentation the company gave Thursday at a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co conference for fund managers as the spark for the massive gains, a sentiment echoed in a Wall Street Journal report. Oddly, though, one of the main thrusts of the presentation was a discussion of the company’s partnership with the Nasdaq stock market – a deal that was announced back in December. Under the agreement, Broadcast.com will allow companies in the Nasdaq 100 index free webcasts of quarterly earnings conference calls.
