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VCA falls below IPO price
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November 21, 2001: 12:50 p.m. ET
Veterinary diagnostic labs operator drops 7 percent under $10 issue.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - VCA Antech Inc. broke the winning streak of recent initial public offerings when it fell nearly 7 percent below its issue price Wednesday.
Shares of VCA Antech (WOOF: Research, Estimates) opened at $9.10 and couldn't manage to rise above their $10 offer price. The stock closed at $9.34 on the Nasdaq.
VCA, which operates the largest network of veterinary diagnostic laboratories and full-service animal hospitals in the United States, priced 16 million shares at $10 each.
Of the total, two million shares were bought by Leonard Green Partners and 14 million were sold to the public, underwriters said.
Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs served as lead underwriters of the issue, whose price was cut to a range of $10-to-$12 a share from $12-to-$14.
VCA Antech's poor performance follows the strong debut of Magma Design Automation Inc. (LAVA: down $0.29 to $18.70, Research, Estimates), which gained 46 percent Tuesday.
Last week, Weight Watchers International gained nearly 23 percent in its IPO. Weight Watcher (WTW: down $0.35 to $31.25, Research, Estimates), a provider of weight-loss services, raised $417.6 million by pricing 17.4 million shares at $24 each. 
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