The IPO Buzz: Life Beyond The IPO Speed Bump

 

Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, 2014: The Dow Industrials fell 497.23 points. Due to seasonal factors, the IPO calendar was just starting to gear up, and that week produced only three deals. The following week, Jan. 25, the calendar produced eight deals.

 

Jan. 31 (a Friday) and Feb. 3, 2014 (a Monday): The Dow industrials fell 456.72 points. The IPO calendar produced 10 deals that week. The following week, starting Feb. 10, it produced eight deals.

 

By the time that 2014’s first quarter ended, the IPO calendar produced 70 deals, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s filings. That was more than double the 34 IPOs that were priced during 2013’s first quarter. And the IPO market had the wind in its face. For the first quarter of 2014, the Dow  lost 0.72 percent. A down stock market is usually not good for the IPO production line.

 

On Friday, April 11, the calendar listed eight IPOs, a busy time. By the day’s close, four had been priced, three were pushed into this week, and one was pulled off the calendar. And against a falling stock market, Friday’s Final Four did well.

 

Three finished in the winner’s circle, and the average opening-day gain for all four was 20.2 percent. The Dow industrials lost 143.47 points.

 

Nevertheless, last week’s sharp pullback raised concerns about this week’s IPO calendar and tempered the IPO experts’ enthusiasm “due to market conditions.”

 

This week ends with Good Friday, giving us a four-day work week. And good stock market, bad stock market – the calendar looks to be busy. It has 12 IPOs looking to raise almost $2.6 billion. Among the names that could draw some attention are:

 

Leju Holdings Limited (LEJU – proposed) is a Beijing-based real estate services provider offering real estate e-commerce, online advertising and online listing services through its online platform, which comprises local websites covering over 250 cities in China and various mobile applications. (For more information, please click here: Leju Holdings Limited)

 

Moelis (MC – proposed) is a New York City-based investment bank that provides innovative strategic and financial advice to a diverse client base, including corporations, governments and financial sponsors. (For more information, please click here: Moelis)

 

Sabre (SABR – proposed) is a Southlake, Texas-based technology solutions provider to the global travel and tourism industry. Through its Travel Network business, it process hundreds of millions of transactions annually, connecting the world’s leading travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines and tour operators, with travel buyers in a comprehensive travel marketplace. In addition, it operates Travelocity, one of the world’s most recognizable brands in the online consumer travel e-commerce industry. (For more information, please click here: Sabre)

 

Sportsman’s Warehouse (SPWH – proposed) is a Midvale, Utah-based outdoor sporting goods retailer focused on meeting the everyday needs of the seasoned outdoor veteran, the first-time participant and every enthusiast in between. (For more information, please click here: Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings)

 

Weibo (WB – proposed) is a Beijing-based social media platform that has been called China’s Twitter. Weibo enables people to create, distribute and discover Chinese-language content so Chinese people and organizations can publicly express themselves in real time, interact with others on a massive global platform, and stay connected with the world. For more information, please click here: Weibo)

 

Looking into the following week, the calendar has one IPO. But you never know what Monday will bring from the SEC’s filing window.

 

Stay tuned.