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Tech IPOs soar out of gate
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March 3, 2000: 3:59 p.m. ET
Stock in five tech companies command strong investor attention
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Friday's stock debut of five technology companies grabbed attention on Wall Street, sending their shares soaring out of the gate.
"I think the IPO market is as strong as ever, and it's just going to keep rolling on," said Jeffrey Hirschkorn, an analyst at IPO.com. "But the question is for how long?"
During late afternoon trading, AsiaInfo Holdings Inc. (ASIA: Research, Estimates) climbed more than 285 percent, gaining 68-1/2, to 92-1/2.
The Beijing-based company offers Internet-related technology services and software in China, where it relocated from the United States in 1995. The initial public offering of 5 million shares was priced at $24, up from its range of $18 to $20. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter was the lead underwriter, with Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette as co-managers.
In 1998, AsiaInfo reported revenues of $44 million on a net loss of $1.5 million. Currently, the company is building two additional commercial Internet backbones in China.
UTStarcom Inc. (UTSI: Research, Estimates) gained 280 percent, or 50-7/16, to 68-7/16. The Alameda, Calif.-based firm provides voice and data communications equipment for Chinese service providers.
The company increased its initial price from $16 to $18, offering 10 million shares. Leading underwriters were Merrill Lynch, with co-underwriters Banc of America and Piper Jaffray. The company has strong competition from heavyweights such as Ericsson (ERICY: Research, Estimates) and Lucent (LU: Research, Estimates).
Prime Response (PRME: Research, Estimates) also made an impact, soaring 38 percent, or 6-7/8, to 24-7/8. The Cambridge, Mass.-based software provider offered 3.5 million shares at a final price of $18 per share. Lead underwriters were Robertson Stephens.
The company, which makes software for Internet marketing campaigns, has clients including British Airways and Dell Computer. Nearly three-quarters of their sales come from outside the United States.
New York-based domain registrar Register.com (RCOM: Research, Estimates) saw gains of almost 150 percent, or 35-15/16, to 59-15/16. Final offering price was in the $19 to $21 range, with a final price of $24 a share, and 5 million shares offered. The IPO was co-lead by Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and Thomas Weisel Partners.
Office supplier Staples (SPLS: Research, Estimates) holds a stake in the company, but it faces massive competition from well-known domain name leader Network Solutions (NSOL: Research, Estimates). Network Solutions' stock, which didn't seem affected by Register.com's IPO, rose 9 percent, or 29-1/4, to 349-1/4.
Finally, Versata (VATA: Research, Estimates) surged 240 percent, or 57-5/8, to 81-5/8. The Oakland, Calif.-based firm provides software that enables companies to create and update business-to-business Web applications.
"This is my favorite stock of the day," said IPO.com's Hirschkorn. "They have a good underwriting team and B2B is one of the busiest buzzwords."
Versata offered 3.9 million shares, with a final price of $24 a share, with lead underwriter Thomas Weisel Partners, and co-underwriters Dain Rauscher Wessels and SG Cowen. Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures also holds a stake in the firm.
"The strength in the IPO market is just getting better by the minute because of the Nasdaq's performance," said Kirschkorn. "The Nasdaq composite is the bellwether of IPO performance data, and consider that 75 percent of IPOs trade on the Nasdaq, which is a very important barometer." 
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IPOs
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