In tandem with the calendar’s flip to the first day of spring on Friday, March 20th, the outdoor temperatures warmed up a bit and so did the climate on Wall Street.
Some people might remember March 10 as “turnaround Tuesday.” That’s when Citigroup (NYSE: C) (quote) announced it was profitable in the first two months of 2009, other big banks chimed in with similar news, and the stock market surged. The good news on the banking front followed stocks hitting their lowest closes for 2009 on Monday, March 9. By Friday’s closing bell, the popular U.S. stock indexes were up about 9 percent to 11 percent for the week. And on Thursday evening, the IPO market had kicked in with a tiny deal.
March roared into town like a lion. It produced winter’s worst storm as temperatures plunged, the winds blew and snow piled up to over 10 inches. In the meantime, Wall Street was hit with its own version of a winter storm. The major U.S. stock indexes lost 6 percent to 7 percent for the week, while the IPO market stayed in hibernation.
When the IPO market returns, you’ll want to have your ducks lined up to aim at what takes flight. One industrial sector to keep an eye on is education; IPOs from this industry are making the grade. And there’s a couple more in the pipeline that should be bookmarked.
For the first time in over six months, Wall Street is coming to town with a multi-deal IPO calendar. Bankers plan to price five new issues this week, and there’s something for everyone.
Wall Street’s syndicate calendar was far from dead in January. The traffic came from secondary offerings as 14 deals were priced. However, IPOs are not far behind. The new-issue door is expected to swing open during the week of February 9. Five deals are on the launching pad.
As January 2009 comes to a close, the whole world is still waiting for the year’s first U.S. IPO. One was scheduled for last week, but it was pushed back to February. You might say it was a victim of the stock market’s sell-off.