A survey of the IPO handicappers making up the SCOOP ratings (the acronym for Street Consensus of Opening Premiums) had the deal running from a “no call” to “flat” to “up $6 per share.” Most saw a premium of $1 to $3 per share — a 3-Star call.
There were reports that the deal was six or seven times oversubscribed. There have been other deals that were much more oversubscribed. Given the number of shares that Blackstone was offering, that was very impressive. Being oversubscribed by six times would have placed investor demand at 800 million shares.
Naturally, the deal worked.
The New York Stock Exchange reported Blackstone opened at $36.45 per share, not at $45 as some reported. After that, it ran from a session high of $38 to a low of $34.25 and a close of $35.06, UP $4.06 from its initial offering price. That’s a 4-Star performance.
And the Band Plays On
But the IPO market is not a one-note band.
Bankers intend to play more music for the new-issues market. This week’s calendar lists 10 deals, looking to raise about $1.3 billion. That’s a sharp increase from June’s first three weeks, when a total of 15 deals were priced.
This week’s surge in volume is a rush toward two milestones: the end of the quarter and the end of the first half of the year. Worth noting: It’s a realistic calendar — all have a good shot of getting out the door. And there could be – repeat, could be — a few “sleepers” among them.
The Sleepers:
comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR proposed) is a Reston, Virginia-based provider of digital marketing intelligence platforms.
The reason:
For the year ending December 31, 2006, comScore reported net income of $2.5 million on revenues of $66.3 million, compared with a net loss of $7.1 million on revenues of $50.3 million for the same period a year ago. For the three months ending March 31, 2007, comScore reported net income of $655,000 on revenues of $18.7 million, compared with a net loss of $657,000 on revenues of $15 million for the same period a year ago.
PROS Holdings (NYSE: PRO proposed) is a Houston, Texas-based provider of software applications allowing companies to improve financial performance by enabling better pricing.
The reason:
For the year ending December 31, 2006, PROS Holdings reported net income of $7 million on total revenues of $46 million, compared with net income of $3.4 million on total revenues of $35.1 million for the same period a year ago. And for the three months ending March 31, 2007, PROS Holdings reported net income of $2.3 million on total revenues of $13.5 million, compared with net income of $1 million on total revenues of $9.6 million for the same period a year ago.
Quark Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: QURK proposed) is a Fremont, California-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on novel therapeutic gene-discovery science and technology to develop drug candidates that work through the natural mechanism in the cell known as RNA interference.
The reason:
Through March 31, 2007, Pfizer had paid Quark an aggregate of $26.1 million in up-front fees and agreed to pay up to $299 million in additional development and product approval milestone payments.
ShoreTel (NASDAQ: SHOR proposed) is a Sunnyvale, California-based provider of Internet Protocol telecommunications systems.
The reason:
For the year ending December 31, 2006, ShoreTel reported net income of $4 million on total revenues of $61.6 million, compared with a net loss of $1.4 million on total revenues of $35.5 million for the same period a year ago. For the three months ending March 31, 2007, ShoreTel reported net income of $4.2 million on total revenues of $68.9 million, compared with net income of $2.3 million on total revenues of $42.5 million for the same period a year ago.
(IPOScoop subscribers will be notified by email of any SCOOP ratings as they occur.)
For IPOScoop.com subscribers: Please check the IPO SCOOP Rated Calendar for the latest Street Consensus of Opening Premium ratings, Last Week’s IPO Traffic and stand by for IPO Alert emailings for any changes in those SCOOP ratings.
Stay in the loop with the IPOScoop.com
To learn what’s “hot” and what’s “cold” on the calendar, IPOScoop.com subscribers, please use your passwords for the SCOOP ratings. For others, we invite you to sign up for a 30-day free trial subscription. There is no obligation and you can cancel at any time.