In case you hadn’t noticed, the running of the IPO bulls started in mid-September. And this week looks to produce the biggest new-issues calendar since January.
On Friday morning, Mr. John Coustas, president and CEO of the Greek shipping company Danaos, stepped onto the balcony of the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell. It was to launch the listing of his company’s IPO. The stock opened flat. It sank in the aftermarket.
September 2006’s IPO market closed on an upbeat note. Wall Street bankers priced three deals for Friday’s trading, seven for the week and 15 for the month, according to available reports.
If you don’t know the horse, bet the jockey. That advice has floated around the race tracks for decades. The same could be said for Wall Street, its IPO stable and its investment bankers.
The fall IPO season got off to a fast start this past week. Bankers priced just one deal and it responded with the sharpest opening-day gain in four months.
Nail July 21 to the mast of the good ship IPO. It could prove to be a very significant date. The Nasdaq Composite Index, the barometer of the IPO market, closed on its 2006 low of 2,020.39 on that date.
Every deal on last week’s IPO calendar had a unique story. Three got priced, two didn’t and the Securities and Exchange Commission filing window was busy, very busy.