~OT~ FYI...'IPOs soar in debuts despite weakness in tech stocks'...
<<By Reshma Kapadia
Tuesday July 20, 9:25 pm Eastern Time
NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - Although the technology-laden Nasdaq posted its fourth biggest point loss ever Tuesday, the shares of six initial public offerings surged, led by Gadzoox Networks Inc. stock, which more than quadrupled.
The Nasdaq fell 3.47 percent, or 98.11 points, to 2,732.18.
The performance in the wake of a decline in technology issues, ''says new issues are defying the market. Investors see a chance to get in on something new. They don't want to miss out again on the latest wave, which is infrastructure,'' said Steve Harmon, of Internet.com.
San Jose, Calif.-based Gadzoox, which makes products that enable companies to build storage area networks, benefited from the growing need to store data.
It raised $73.5 million with its IPO and closed up $53.81, or 256 percent, at $74.81 on the Nasdaq, where it was the top percent gainer. Credit Suisse First Boston was the lead underwriter.
''There is a lot of demand in this arena for networking infrastructure,'' said Paul Bard, an analyst at Renaissance Capital Corp.'s IPO Plus Aftermarket Fund (Nasdaq:IPOSX - news).
''Investors are placing high valuations on these companies, as opposed to earlier in the year when pure online plays were bid up to high levels. It now seems like there is a shift in interest to infrastructure plays.''
Analysts had expected Gadzoox to perform well because of the strong showing by similar companies, such as Brocade Communications Systems Inc.(Nasdaq:BRCD - news), which priced its IPO at $19 a share in late May and closed Wednesday at $108.50.
''Now the big word is infrastructure and we are seeing it more and more. It's Internet 2, the sequel,'' said Steve Harmon of Internet.com. ''Investors are coming back to the sector again and are looking for nuts and bolts growth...these new plumbing companies.''
Gadzoox (Nasdaq:ZOOX - news) was not alone in its sharp gains. Biotechnology firm Genentech Inc. (NYSE:DNA - news) saw its shares rally 31 percent to close at $127 on the New York Stock Exchange after parent company Roche Holding AG spun off 15.7 percent of the company. The Swiss firm raised about $2 billion through the deal, which was led by JP Morgan. Bullishness in the biotechnology sector boosted Genentech's performance, analysts said.
Internet marketer Engage Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:ENGA - news) rose 173 percent on its $15 a share IPO, helped partially by its ties to Internet venture firm CMGI Inc.(Nasdaq:CMGI - news) Shares in the Andover, Mass-based company, which was a unit of CMGI, closed up $26 at $41. CMGI will own 80 percent of the company's stock and will continue to control Engage.
Engage, which raised $90 million, provides products and services that allow customers to create and use profiles of individual Web visitors to target advertisements, content and e-commerce offerings.
''It's a mix of Net Perceptions Inc. (Nasdaq:NETP - news) meets NetGravity Inc. (Nasdaq:NETG - news) meets DoubleClick Inc. (Nasdaq:DCLK - news) They provide all the (marketing) solutions at once because they are a home-grown effort,'' Harmon said, noting its CMGI relationship.
Other IPOs also posted gains:
Data and voice communications services provider Convergent Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:CONV - news) closed up 43 percent after its $15 a share IPO, which raised $126 million.
Be Inc.(Nasdaq:BEOS - news), a Linux-based Internet appliance operating system maker, gained 34 percent to close up $2.06 at $8.06 after its $6 a share IPO.
Online communities service Talk City Inc. (Nasdaq:TCTY - news) priced its IPO at the top of its expected, increased price range and raised $60 million. It closed up 14 percent at $13.69.>>
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