Five initial public offerings yesterday (Wed) showed the time is ripe to issue new shares, especially in technology — all of them were robust, seeing their stocks start trading at the high end of expectations or even higher.
Comscore — ComScore, which measures the amount of traffic Web sites get, is benefiting from strong growth among Internet companies. Its initial pricing plans were between $14 and $16, but the price hit $16.50, opened trading at $22 and then shot up to $23.47 before closing. The company made $1.5 million in profit on revenue of $18.7 million in the most recent quarter. Accel Partners, of Palo Alto, is a big beneficiary. The venture firm owned $26.1 percent of it before the IPO. Other holders included JP Morgan, IVP, Lehman, Adams Street and Topspin.
Data Domain — The storage appliance company saw its stock rise to $24.95, or 66 percent higher than its $15 IPO price. That IPO price, in turn, was higher than its planned range of $11.50 to $13.50 a share. This despite a $1.5 million loss for first quarter. Greylock, NEA and Sutter Hill Ventures all held major chunks of the company.
Spreadtrum Communications — Chinese semiconductor company saw its stock increase 14 percent from its IPO price.
Spectra Energy Partners — The natural gas company saw its stock close at $28.40, or 29 percent higher than its $22 IPO price — above the expected range of $19 to $21.
AuthenTec – Fingerprint sensor company, was the rotten one of the bunch, falling 9 percent below its $11 IPO price. Still, its price range was $9 to $11, and the company is losing money, so what can you expect?
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