|
Krispy Kreme warms up
|
 |
April 5, 2000: 6:41 p.m. ET
Doughnut maker posts nearly 50% gain in early trading; MetLife, others also up
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street once again displayed its insatiable sweet tooth for initial public offerings Wednesday as a host of new issues, led by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., opted to brave the turbulent market and largely managed to weather the storm.
Krispy Kreme was clearly the day's winner, and its reception on Wall Street was as warm as one of the company's "Hot Original Glazed" doughnuts, as the company finished up 16 to 37.
The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company traded at 31, 10 above its initial pricing, shortly after trading on its stock began late Wednesday morning.
 After serving as a Southern institution for the last 63 years, Krispy Kreme is looking to fund an aggressive expansion plan that will place its green and white logo in supermarkets and retail outlets across the nation.
Krispy Kreme CEO Scott Livengood told CNNfn's In The Money that much of the proceeds of the offering would be used to increase the company's presence in major markets around the country. (266K WAV or 266K AIFF)
He also compared the company's operation to soft drink king Coca-Cola (KO: Research, Estimates), in that Krispy Kreme makes its products from scratch internally and keeps its formula closely guarded.
"We're in the doughnut company from flour to finish," he said.
Krispy Kreme (KREM: Research, Estimates) priced 3 million shares at per shares at $21 late Tuesday, above its expected pricing range of $18 to $20 per share.
MetLife holds steady
In the day's biggest offering, MetLife (MET: Research, Estimates), which is becoming a public company after a long history as a mutual insurance firm, closed up modestly at 15-1/2.
The New York-based insurance company finally priced its offering Tuesday, after a turbulent two weeks that saw its initial offering size sawed in half and then boosted again. The company ultimately floated 202 million shares at $14.25 per share, raising $2.88 billion.
That ranks MetLife as the largest U.S.-based offering so far this year and second-largest offering overall, behind Infineon Technologies AG's (IFX: Research, Estimates) $5.23 billion float. It also ranks as the sixth-largest U.S. IPO of all-time.
Irv DeGraw, research director with WorldFinanceNet.com, said the current market conditions for insurance companies and MetLife's status as a demutualizing insurance company were likely to impede any large first-day gains.
"Demutualizing insurance companies have the fiduciary obligations to maximize value for their policy holders," he said. "Any large first-day gain would suggest a breach of that fiduciary duty and might quickly result in Board of Director exposure to litigation."
MetLife CEO Robert Ben Moshe said the stock market's swoon and subsequent partial recovery concerned company executives Tuesday, who feared bringing the company to market during such a turbulent period. But ultimately, he said, the company was convinced its fundamentals would win investors over. (330K WAV or 330K AIFF)
Oratec quietly gains momentum
While MetLife and Krispy Kreme were grabbing all the headlines, surgical instrument maker Oratec Interventions (OTEC: Research, Estimates) was busy racking up the largest gains of the day.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company nearly doubled by the end of trading, jumping 11-5/8 to 25-5/8 after pricing 4 million shares at $14 per share late Tuesday, in the middle of its expected range.
The company, which manufactures minimally evasive surgical instruments used to treat spine and joint disorders, has been growing revenue at a rapid clip and benefited from a strong acceptance by the IPO market for other companies in its sector, analysts said.
Vyyo Inc., a provider of wireless broadband access to deliver high-speed access, jumped as high as 25 shortly after hitting the open market before settling in at 20-1/4, up 6-3/4 from the initial offering price.
Vyyo (VYYO: Research, Estimates) is considered a pioneer in its field, and already has a lucrative contract from ADC Telecommunications (ADCT: Research, Estimates) on its books. But the company expects several well-know technology names to enter the business soon.
The day's final new offering, Ulticom Inc. (ULCM: Research, Estimates), rose 7 to 20 in late morning trading.
The software company priced 4.25 million shares at $13 per share, the bottom of its expected range, late Tuesday. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
