Rubicon and 3Par Soar
In Busy Week for IPOs
By LYNN COWAN and BRETT PHILBIN
November 17, 2007; Page B2
Stock offerings from industrial crystal
maker Rubicon Technology Inc., computer-storage company 3Par Inc. and
three other companies completed an active week for the IPO market
Friday.
The shares of Rubicon rose 25% and 3Par
rose 13% on their first trading day.
Meanwhile, the initial public offerings
of El Paso Pipeline Partners LP; Chimera Investment Corp., which is a
company formed to invest in mortgages and mortgage-backed securities;
and Web-site operator Internet Brands Inc. had unimpressive debuts. El
Paso gained 4.5%, Chimera slipped 0.7%, and Internet Brands was
unchanged after the company reduced the size of its offering and slashed
the estimated price range earlier in the day.
The IPOs' performances come on a seesaw
day in which the broader stock market turned higher midday on positive
news from energy and technology companies despite lingering concerns
about the economy.
The day's best performer was Rubicon.
The stock opened at its IPO price of $14 a share on the Nasdaq Stock
Market but surged to close at $17.50. A total of 6.7 million shares were
sold at the high end of the expected $12 to $14 range, set by
underwriter UBS AG.
Based in Franklin Park., Ill., Rubicon
makes monocrystalline sapphire and other monocrystalline products for
electronics materials like light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, and
optoelectronics. The company has a history of losses, though the level
is narrowing.
3Par ended at $15.75 on the NYSE Arca
marketplace, up from its IPO price of $14. The Fremont, Calif., company,
so far unprofitable, sold 7.5 million shares above its expected $11 to
$13 price range, set by underwriters Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and
Credit Suisse Group. It makes storage systems geared toward
utility computing, which helps companies expand their storage easily.
Write to Lynn Cowan at
lynn.cowan@dowjones.com1 |
