UPDATE1-Krispy Kreme IPO comfort food for Wall St
(Updates price, adds analyst comments, details) By Brian Kelleher
NEW YORK, April 5 (Reuters) - Investors, frazzled by recent volatility in technology stocks, rushed to consume shares of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.'s <KREM.O> $63 million initial public offering on Wednesday, but analysts were skeptical about the company's ability to maintain its first-day valuation.
Shares of Krispy Kreme -- with 144 shops and ambitious expansion plans -- rose 15-7/8 to 36-7/8 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq after the company offered 3 million shares at $21 each through joint lead underwriters J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Banc Alex Brown.
The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based doughnut shop operator, founded 63 years ago, made its debut in a market still recovering from one the wildest rides in history. Its timing may have been perfect, analysts said.
On Tuesday, the Nasdaq composite tumbled more than 13 percent before paring losses and finishing the day 1.77 percent lower. The index was led down by technology companies, which had formerly been the darlings of a high-flying market.
Krispy Kreme, by contrast, enters the market as a staunch Old Economy company with a hint of nostalgia surrounding its back-to-basics business, founded in 1937.
"There must be technology in those doughnuts," quipped Vincent Slavin, who tracks IPOs at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Even so, he was pessimistic about Krispy Kreme's stock over the long haul.
"It's not worth the $21 it came public at ... you'll be able to buy (Krispy Kreme shares) at $8 someday," Slavin said, adding he was unaware of any institutions investing in the deal. "It's all retail."
Skepticism surrounding the offering stems from the lackluster performance of restaurant stocks, notably the recent struggles of Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. <YUM.N> and the volatility of Starbucks Corp. <SBUX.O>
The shares of Tricon, which operates KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants, were trading 1-1/4 higher at 32-7/16 on Wednesday, but were still well off from their 52-week high of 73-3/4.
Starbucks shares, off 3-7/16 to 40 in Wednesday trading, hit a 52-week high of 45-1/4 in March after trading down to the mid-20s in January.
"I'm not a big fan of Krispy Kreme," said Tom Taulli, an analyst at Internet.com Corp., who described the restaurant business as "tough" and noted that, even Starbucks, which performs well, endures a lot of market volatility.
"Restaurant stocks generally don't do well in the IPO market."
Taulli also thought that pre-offering hype may have contributed to some of the company's initial success.
"It's the fashionable thing right now," he said.
In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Krispy Kreme said it planned to open about 22 stores in 2001 and more 100 stores between 2002 and 2005.
The company posted a net income of about $5.96 million from revenues of $220.2 million in 1999 and has about 12.5 million shares outstanding after the IPO. |
