THE FORECASTER COMPANY Merrill Lynch, Senior Internet and e-commerce analyst AGE 32 ADDRESSwww.ml.com BIO It takes a certain cachet to make financial-market types swoon. Henry Blodget,
arguably the most influential voice on Internet stocks in the world, is so hot right
now that his late arrival to a recent bigwig luncheon prompted this
announcement: "Elvis has entered the building." The 1989 Yale grad was a
managing director and senior Internet analyst at CIBC Oppenheimer when he
made the call that shot him into the spotlight and one of the most prestigious
jobs on Wall Street. Amazon.com's share price was hovering around $200; pundits
were proclaiming that the party was over. But Blodget remained bullish on the
online bookseller and said the stock would hit $400 in 12 months--and then it hit
the stratosphere. By March, he was at Merrill--and he's been getting the kind of
attention shown in those old E.F. Hutton ads ever since.
BEST LINE "It is possible that in 10 or 20 years, we'll look back on this period in the
way we now look back at the Industrial Revolution."
FORWARD TILT Blodget warns investors who don't have the stomach for volatility
to stay away from Net stocks. No one knows when the bubble will burst.
