|
Ixia survives tepid market
|
 |
October 18, 2000: 4:50 p.m. ET
Network-systems test maker surges; Monsanto up 8%, Sinopec adds
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Network equipment manufacturer Ixia overcame the broader market's weakness Wednesday to climb nearly 57 percent in its market debut, while two Big Board initial public offerings produced small gains.
Ixia climbed as high as $26.13, or more than 100 percent, during its first day before retreating late in the day to close at $21.50, up $7.50. Meanwhile, agricultural products company Monsanto Co., one of the week's more anticipated IPOs, gained $1.50, or 7.5 percent, to $21.50, while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, gained 9 cents to $20.75.
Analysts said volatility in the capital markets continued to weigh on all three issues Wednesday as the Dow Jones industrial average dropped below the 10,000 mark for the first time since last March. However, the Dow managed to rebound in late morning trading Wednesday while the Nasdaq composite also pared its losses.
"Ixia's success is no surprise," said analyst George Nichols, of Morningstar.com. "It's one of the strongest IPOs."
 Ixia raised $71.5 million Wednesday when it sold 5.5 million shares at $13, above an expected range of $10 to $12, via lead underwriter Merrill Lynch.
Calabasas, Calif.-based Ixia (XXIA: Research, Estimates) provides network-analysis systems that let companies measure the performance of their data communications equipment and networks by reproducing a large-scale network environment. Ixia's products analyze different types of networks, including advance optical networks that send traffic over optical fiber.
Ixia competes against test equipment manufacturers such as Agilent Technologies (A: Research, Estimates), Netcom Systems and Adtech. Customers include Cisco Systems (CSCO: Research, Estimates), IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates), Intel Corp. (INTC: Research, Estimates) and AT&T (T: Research, Estimates).
Ixia had net income of $2.3 million on revenue of $28.3 million for the first half of 2000.
Big Board IPOs
Monsanto performed better than expected considering the bloodbath occurring in the broad market, Nichols said.
"It's not a good time to come out," he added.
The biotech company raised $700 million Monday after pricing 35 million shares at $20 each via lead underwriters Goldman Sachs.
Monsanto Co. (MON: Research, Estimates), a unit of Pharmacia Corp. (PHA: Research, Estimates), specializes in manipulating genes of plants. St. Louis-based Monsanto, which combines agricultural and biotech technology, is developing bioengineered seeds for crops such as cotton, corn and soybeans that are resistant to insects and some herbicides.
Click here to read CNNfn's IPO Focus piece on Monsanto
Monsanto's leading product line, Roundup, is an herbicide that controls the growth of weeds and degrades biologically over time in the soil into natural products.
Elsewhere, China Petroleum rose less than 1 percent. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP: Research, Estimates) raised $3.47 billion when it priced its deal last Thursday, selling about 167.8 million American depositary receipts (ADRs) at $20.65 per each. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is lead underwriter on the deal.
Beijing-based China Petroleum, or Sinopec Corp., is the largest integrated energy and chemical firm in China. Sinopec develops and markets petroleum and natural gas. In 1999, Sinopec produced 600,000 barrels daily of crude and natural gas.
The Chinese government set up China Petroleum in 1988. The company had net income of $908 million on $17.9 billion in sales for the year ended June 30. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monsanto
Sinopec
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
