What looks good in the IPO market this week?
Reply:
Oplink
Communications should be explosive. The company develops components for
fiber optic networks. Customers include JDS Uniphase, Lucent, AdVA
International and Sycamore Networks. Also, Cisco is an investor.
In terms of the financials, the company has been growing at a rapid clip.
In the past six months, revenues were $39.1 million, which was a 329.4 percent
increase from the same period a year ago. The company also has
revenue backlogs of $54.6 million.
The company plans to go public this week. The lead underwriter is Robertson
Stephens and the price range is $14-$16 (the company plans to issue 13.7
million shares). The proposed ticker symbol is OPLK.
The Vitals on Healtheon
What’s your outlook on Healtheon?
Reply: I’ve written about the stock on several occasions and I’m
still bullish. Although, the company’s plans of being the dominant online
player in healthcare is obviously ambitious and will be a long-term process.
Last week, there were further signs that
Healtheon is making
the right choices. The company got board approval for a multi-phase plan to
reduce costs (by as much as $250 million by the end of 2001) and integrate
technologies. After all, the company purchased a spate of companies over
the past year, such as Medical Manager, OnHealth, CareInsite, and Envoy.
With the restructuring, Healtheon will be able to focus on its core
competencies. These include transactional systems for physicians, clinical
applications and content.
What side is an analyst on?
What is the difference between a buy-side and sell-side analyst?
Reply: First of all, a buy-side analyst is a stock analyst employed
by a firm that invests money, such as a pension, insurance company or mutual
fund. However, these analysts typically do not publish their reports for
the public. As for a sell-side analyst, this is a stock analyst that is
employed by a brokerage firm. And, of course, these analysts will publish
their reports (or, at least, ratings) for the public.
