The IPO Buzz: Fast Times in the IPO Market

Let’s go to the SEC filings: From 1980 through 2013, the average IPO traffic amounted to 29.4 pricings per month. From the beginning of this year through Friday’s close, 2014’s average IPO traffic amounted to 26.6 pricings per month, or about 10 percent below the average for the three decades-plus time span.
 
No, Stacy, there is no IPO bubble in today’s marketplace.
(It’s OK. You’re a big girl now. You can turn Jackson Browne up to level 10 on the stereo without incurring a parent’s wrath.)
 
The IPO calendar for the week of April 7, 2014, lists 14 new issues expected to be priced. They plan to raise about $4.9 billion. The last time we saw a busier IPO calendar was for the week of Nov. 12, 2007, when 21 new issues were expected to be priced. Those companies planned to raise about $5.6 billion. For the record, 13 of those 21 IPOs were priced during that week in November 2007. We’ll have to wait until Friday, April 11, 2014, to see how many will make it out the door this week. The betting is that most, if not all, of these deals will get done.
 
Let’s take a closer look at this week’s coming IPO traffic. Investors have a wide range to pick from, including a couple of brand-name companies, six IPOs from the health-care sector, three from the financial sector and one each from other sectors. Among them are a few names that will appear on somebody’s “most wanted” list. Below are highlights from this week’s calendar.
 
The Most Wanted
Adamas Pharmaceuticals (ADMS – proposed) is an Emeryville, California-based specialty pharmaceutical company developing a product candidate for a complication of Parkinson’s disease and a treatment for chronic behavioral symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury. (For more information, please click here: Adamas Pharmaceuticals)
 
Paycom Software (PAYC – proposed) is an Oklahoma City-based provider of a cloud-based HCM software solution delivered as Software-as-a-Service. (For more information, please click here: Paycom Software)
 
Zoe’s Kitchen (ZOES – proposed) is a Plano, Texas-based fast casual restaurant offering a distinct menu of fresh and wholesome Mediterranean-inspired dishes delivered with Southern hospitality. (For more information, please click here: Zoe’s Kitchen)
 
 
The Brand Names
Ally Financial (ALLY – proposed) (formerly GMAC) is a Detroit-based independent financial services firm with $182.3 billion in assets providing financial services to automotive dealers and their customers. (For more information, please click here: Ally Financial)
 
La Quinta Holdings (LQ – proposed) is an Irving, Texas-based owner, operator and franchisor of select-service hotels primarily serving the mid-scale and upper mid-scale segments under the La Quinta brand. The company’s portfolio consists of about 836 hotels in 46 U.S. states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Colombia and Honduras. For more information, please click here: La Quinta Holdings)
 
Will Five Be Enough?
Looking into next week, the calendar has five IPOs looking to raise about $1.3 billion. Another brand-name company expects to make its debut – Sabre (SABR – proposed; more about it later.
 
 
Stay tuned.
 
Disclosure: Neither the author nor anyone else on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned, nor do we trade or invest in IPOs. The author and IPOScoop.com staff do not issue advice, recommendations or opinions.