Shrewd, Crude or Simply Deluded? Comovement and the Internet Stock Phenomenon

We show that (i) return comovement among internet stocks during the late 1990s and early 2000 was not exceedingly high; (ii) there was substantial consistency in the manner by which investors distinguished among internet stocks; and (iii) high comovement is most common during periods of price erosion. These results cast doubt on the view that the extraordinary appreciation of internet stocks was due to the crude classification of all such stocks as members of a hot category.