Homestore Expansion Plan Boosts Stock 9%

Homestore.com Inc. shares jumped 9% on Tuesday after the biggest lister of homes for sale on the Internet said it’s expanding its Web site.

The stock (ticker symbol: HOMS) rose $7.13 to close at $89.88 on Nasdaq. Homestore, which went public at $20 in early August, is up 349% altogether and 38% this month.

Thousand Oaks-based Homestore.com will now offer customers the opportunity to purchase home products, such as curtains, in addition to buying, selling and renting homes.

“We have all different resources related to the home under one roof,” said Stuart Wolff, the company’s chairman and chief executive.

Homestore is “extremely well-positioned” in the online home and real estate market and should be able to “increasingly attract online users,” said Ryan Alexander, an analyst with Wit Capital Corp.

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Bringing It Home

Shares of Thousand Oaks-based Homestore.com are up 349% from its Aug. 5 initial public offering. Weekly closes and latest on Nasdaq:

Aug 5: $20

Tuesday: $89.88, up $7.13