1-800-Flowers IPO mixed
By Steve Gelsi, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:39 PM ET Aug 3, 1999 Movers & Shakers
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The $150 million initial public offering for 1-800-Flowers delivered a mixed bouquet Tuesday as shares hovered around their offering price.
The direct flower seller opened at 21 3/4, not far above its offering price of 21. On the plus side, however, the offering price was well above its range of $16 to $18 per share. Shares fell to 21 in recent trades.
"This is disturbing," said David Menlow of the IPO Financial Network. "This was supposed to be the strongest IPO of the week. It puts the rest of the week at risk. We really don't have an answer yet."
All four IPOs that opened on Tuesday failed to climb above their offering prices as new issues succumbed to heaviness in the Nasdaq. See Market Snapshot.
The performance may not bode well for FTD.com and Garden.com, since 1800 Flowers was seen as the strongest of the plant-driven IPOs lining up on Wall Street.
Twenty-five IPOs are expected to price this week, on the heels of a crop of 23 IPOs last week. The market hasn't been this ripe since November 1997, according to CommScan Analytics.
Meanwhile, the World Wrestling Federation on Tuesday filed for a body-slamming $173 million IPO -- the perfect opposite of the Martha Stewart offering announced last week.
1-800-Flowers
Westbury, N.Y.-based 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS: news, msgs) is offering 6 million shares to raise a whopping $150 million in a deal backed by Goldman Sachs. It's expected to reach a market cap of about $1 billion.
Already a big brand, 1-800-Flowers has achieved visibility on the Web through its sponsorship deal with America Online. It rang up $3.5 million in profit on $220.6 million in revenue last year.
The company set a range of $16 to $18 per share, but priced at $21 late Monday in a sign of strong demand........
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