Internet IPOs Keep On Coming

If the Internet stocks roller-coaster ride that began April 14 is
scaring companies away from what is being portrayed as an overcrowded
IPO market, I’m seeing little evidence of it.

Sure, eToys announcement that it was delaying its any-day-now public
offering of 8.2 million shares at $10-$12 each came on Tuesday, just one
day after “Black Monday.”

The online retailer’s change of plans, however, appears related not to
qualms about the market, but rather its need to refile documents with
the Securities and Exchange System after purchasing BabyCenter, another
Web merchant catering to parents.

A cover story? I doubt it. The eToy IPO has been highly anticipated and
has some muscle behind it in the form of underwriter Goldman Sachs.

The recent shaky Internet stock market also seems not to have deterred
IPOs from further cramming the pipeline. Since April 14, nine Internet
IPOs have been registered with the SEC, vs. seven this month through
April 13.

The nine most recent Internet IPO registrants are (in chronological
filing order) Software.com, Streamline.com, internet.com, Ramp Networks,
JFAX.COM, GoTo.com, Salon.com, WatchGuard Technologies and Juniper
Networks.

So while April likely won’t come close to the March’s record 35 Internet
IPO registrations, it could emerge as the second-busiest month ever,
eclipsing February’s next-best total of 25. And even if it doesn’t, I
detect no chill in the spring air.

A (slight) hero emerges
When a market takes an across-the-board hit, you always figure there are
at least a few stocks that were able to swim against the tide, posting
gains in the face of steep losses sustained by others.

Well, I found a company–the only one I could find, in fact –whose
stock price actually rose from the April 13 market close through
Wednesday’s market close.

Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM), a provider of high-speed data transmission
products and services, saw its share price soar from $72.88 on April 13
to $73.13 at the end of trading Wednesday. That’s a whopping 25-cent
gain.

Unless I’m overlooking something, that’s it. That’s the gainer.

Stand and take a bow, Broadcom.

(News flash: Broadcom was last seen trading Thursday morning at $70.13,
down $3 a share from Wednesday’s close.)

Sit back down, Broadcom.

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