It seemed like old times last week — with the IPO market having a fair share of
moonshot performances. But, not all IPOs were so lucky. For example, the
much-delayed divine
interVentures saw its IPO fall on its opening day
(then again, it saw-the-light on Friday, as the company bounced back).
The IPO action burst on Thursday, as Nasdaq continued its winning ways.
There was Triton Network Systems . The IPO range
had been boosted from $10-$12 to $13-$15. On Thursday, the IPO was priced
at $15 and surged to $38.44.
Actually, the company was a throwback to the defense spending of the 1980s.
When this market dried up, the company effectively refocused its
business on wireless and broadband. But the company is at the early stages
of this market, with revenues of $3.5 million and losses of $11 million in
the first quarter of this year.
Next, Sunrise Telecom’s IPO was like a shooting star. The price range was $11-$13, but
the IPO was priced at $15. The company raised $60 million. On its first
day of trading, the stock hit a high of $47 and ended the day at $40.41.
The company is a developer of verification and monitoring equipment for
cable and Internet systems. The technology is in the form of a handheld
device used by field technicians.
Sunrise has been a profitable operation for five years. Last year, the
company had net income of $10.9 million, which was up from $3.4 million in
1998.
Network Engines was at high-speed in its IPO. The price range was $16-$17 and
the IPO was priced at $17. The company raised $110.5 million. On the
first day of trading, the stock rose to $29 per share (the high was $34).
The company is a developer of server appliances. These are sophisticated
devices that “plug-and-play” Internet functionality into corporate networks.
Unfortunately, the company is not in the profits camp. In the past quarter,
revenues were $6 million and losses were $4.2 million
As for Friday, it was OmniVision
that had its day in the sun. Priced at $13 per share,
the stock hit a high of 37-5/8 and ended the day at $34. The company raised
$65 million.
OmniVision is in the steamy semiconductor marketplace. The company is a
leading supplier of CMOS image sensors (“Camera-on-a-Chip”). The
technology helps to make cameras that are better, cheaper and smaller.
Investors were also glad that the company is profitable. As of the last
nine months of 1999, the company generated profits of $5 million on $25
million in revenues.
