ACTI at $76.50 — No, not that ACTI

What’s this? ACTI stock closing at $76.50 per share?

Surely, The Eye is seeing things.

After all, Applied Computer Technology Inc. of Fort Collins shut down its computer-manufacturing operations, then last year became embroiled in a wave of lawsuits from creditors. ACT subsequently sold its main asset, the Internet service provider WebAccess, to a new company bearing that name.

When last we looked, Applied Computer’s stock was barely peaking above a few pennies.

So why is Applied Computer’s stock ticker symbol, ACTI, now showing up all over the place, with prices as high as that $76.50 figure?

The answer lies with ActivCard S.A., a French company that recently began trading on the Nasdaq exchange using Applied Computer’s old symbol. ActivCard sells components used for e-commerce. The company sold 4 million shares in an initial public offering at the $76.50 price, grossing $306 million. The stock has since dropped into the $50 range.

The changeover of the ticker symbol has spawned some confusion, and we’re not just talking about The Eye. Seems at least one Internet tracker of public stocks was confused as well, briefly posting current stock prices for ActivCard — but under the Applied Computer Technology name.

on Facebook on LinkedIn