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IPOs: techs dominate
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March 19, 2000: 9:59 a.m. ET
17 issues, ranging from biotechs to semiconductors, are slated for debut
By Staff Writer Jill Bebar
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A broad array of technology companies, ranging from the red-hot biotechnology sector to semiconductor makers, dominate this week's initial public offering calendar.
Seventeen deals worth an estimated $2.2 billion, most of them tech-related, are slated to price, according to IPO.com.
As investors' euphoria for biotechnology companies continues, three biotech-related deals are slated: Aclara BioSciences Inc., InterMune Pharmaceuticals Inc., and IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals Inc.
For example, Diversa Corp. (DVSA: Research, Estimates), which makes enzymes that can be used in the agricultural, industrial and pharmaceutical products, nearly tripled in its February debut.
Biotechs use advanced biochemistry to discover the next generation of treatments for a wide variety of illnesses. Analysts expect Aclara BioSciences, trading under the symbol "ACLA," to draw investor interest. It develops products for use in genomic and pharmaceutical research and plans to float 9 million shares in the $16-to-$18 per share range.
Among the other biotech debuts, InterMune plans to float 5.5 million shares in the $17-to-$19 per share range under the symbol "ITMN," and IntraBiotics is slated to sell 7.5 million shares in the $13-to-$15 range under the symbol "IBPI."
The market is also receptive to deals within the software and semiconductor sectors. Blaze Software, Inc., trading under the symbol "BLZE," may garner attention. It makes software that lets a company provide personalized support to its clients. PlanetRx.com (PLRX: Research, Estimates), Fidelity Investments and Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Research, Estimates) are some of Blaze's clients. It plans to sell 4 million shares in the $12-to-$14 range.
Jeffrey Hirschkorn, senior market analyst at IPO.com, was enthusiastic about Blaze. "It's an interesting concept and has the interest of a noteworthy investment bank," he said, referring to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, which holds an investment stake in the company.
Strength in semiconductors should fuel momentum for Silicon Laboratories Inc., trading under the symbol "SLAB." The company makes semiconductors for communications products such as cell phones and plans to sell 3.2 million shares in the $21-to-$23 range.
A carry-over from last week, Caldera Systems, trading under the ticker symbol "CALD," expects to float 5 million shares in a range between $10 and $12. Caldera's software allows for the deployment of VA Linux Systems (LNUX: Research, Estimates)' servers.
The Linux operating system currently powers one-third of all Internet servers and competes directly with Microsoft's Windows NT. 
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