From May 31 to August 31, the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.31 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.91 percent and the S&P 500 lost 3.7 percent. Note: You won’t find too many money managers bragging at Harry’s at Hanover Square the day after Labor Day.
From May 31 through August 31, bankers priced 53 IPOs, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. On August 31, 30 closed above their initial offering prices, 23 were in the losers’ column and the average gain was 15 percent.
(The above figures exclude unit offerings and publicly traded foreign companies, which made their debuts in the U.S. markets as American Depositary Shares. Note: Those deals were not IPOs, but secondary offerings.)
From May 31 through August 31, bankers priced 23 tech IPOs. On August 31, 13 closed above their offering prices, 10 were losers and the average gain was 29.3 percent.
Make way for some bragging at Harry’s, people.
The Hero
VMware (NYSE: VMW), a Palo Alto, California-based provider of computer virtualization solutions, was the summer’s top performer. It was also the last IPO priced in August.
On August 13, VMware priced 33 million shares at $29 each. The IPO closed its opening day at $51 and at $68.89 on August 31, UP 137.6 percent from its offering price.
The Goat:
Response Genetics (Nasdaq: RGDX), a Los Angeles-based biotechnology company engaged in the research and development of its own pharmacogenomic diagnostic tests based on proprietary technology, was the summer’s biggest loser.
On June 4, Response Genetics priced 3 million shares at $7 each. The IPO closed its opening day at $7 and at $3.49 on August 31, DOWN 50.1 percent from its offering price.
A Rush to the Window
But there was more to the summer IPO story than running 53 deals into a declining stock market. The SEC’s filing window was busy with new issues.
From May 31 through August 31, 122 companies filed to go public. They were looking to raise $27.3 billion.
Note: On January 1, 2007, 159 companies were in the IPO pipeline looking to raise $23.6 billion.
And many of this summer’s filings are reportedly on somebody’s “most wanted” list. Not surprisingly, a good number are tech IPOs. Just take a glance at a few of the recent filings:
On August 24, MedAssets (Nasdaq: MDAS proposed), an Alpharetta, Georgia-based provider of solutions designed to improve operating margin and cash flow for hospitals and health systems, filed for an IPO to raise $230 million.
On August 14, 3PAR (NYSE: tba), a Fremont, California-based provider of utility storage solutions for business-oriented service providers, consumer-oriented Internet companies and government entities, filed for an IPO to raise $100 million.
On August 13, ClassMates Media (Nasdaq: CLAS proposed), a Woodland Hills, California-based online social networking and loyalty marketing services company, filed for an IPO to raise $125 million.
These are just a sampling of what has been filed lately. Stay tuned for coming attractions.
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