FOCUS-Finisar shares gain 357 pct, lead day's debuts
By Reshma Kapadia
NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Finisar Corp. <FNSR.O>, which
makes fiber optic subsystems, left other initial public
offerings behind Friday as it capitalized on recent enthusiasm
for similar firms like Sycamore Networks Inc. <SCMR.O>
The five other IPOs also gained, but Finisar, which makes
fiber optic subsystems and network performance test systems
that speed up communications over networks, led the pack.
Its shares closed up 357 percent, or 67-7/8, at 86-7/8 on
the Nasdaq. It was the largest percentage gainer on Nasdaq.
"Finisar has good fundamentals, good comparable valuations
and a halo effect from recent IPOs in this sector," said Irv
DeGraw, research director at WorldFinanceNet.com. "If you liked
Sycamore, this may be a chance at a second bite of the apple."
Sycamore gained 386 percent at its debut in October. It
closed Friday at 251-15/32 on the Nasdaq.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Finisar raised $154.9 million
through its offering of 8.15 million shares, which priced above
its upwardly revised range. It had initially expected to price
7.7 million shares in a range of $12-$14.
Finisar's customer base, which includes International
Business Machines Corp. <IBM.N> and 3Com Corp. <COMS.O> was a
positive, analysts said.
Internet marketing firm NetCreations Inc. <NTCR.O> shares
also rose, closing $7 higher at $20 on the Nasdaq after its $13
a share IPO.
NetCreations, whose e-mail systems let direct marketers
send advertisements to consumers who want them, raised $42.9
million with it 3.3 million share IPO.
"In the last six months, there has been a huge thrust in
e-mail marketing. "It has such high response rates, about five
to 15 percent for the typical e-mail campaign versus 0.5
percent for banner campaigns," said Michele Slack, an analyst
at Jupiter Communications.
NetCreations and Yesmail.com Inc. <YESM.O> are the two
major players in the e-mail marketing or "brokering" market,
Slack said, adding that NetCreations makes its money by renting
its e-mail lists to advertisers.
The following are the day's other debuts:
* San Jose, Calif-based Immersion Corp. <IMMR.O> shares
rose 6-5/8 to 18-5/8 on the Nasdaq after its $12 a share IPO,
which priced above the expected price range.
The producer of computer mouse and joystick enhancements
designed to make games more realistic raised $51 million after
pricing 4.25 million shares.
* Rudolph Technologies Inc.<RTEC.O>, which designs and
develops support tools for semiconductor device production,
raised $76.8 million after offering 4.8 million shares at $16,
above its expected price range.
The Flanders, N.J.-based firm's systems are used to measure
the thickness and other properties of films used in building
integrated circuits. Its customers include Intel Corp. <INTC.O>
and Texas Instruments Inc.<TXN.N>
* Santa Barbara-based Somera Communications Inc. <SMRA.O>
raised $102 million after pricing 8.5 million shares at $12,
the middle of its expected range.
It provides telecommunications carriers with infrastructure
equipment and services and is poised to benefit from a push by
carriers to offer more services.
Research firm Dataquest projects that worldwide sales of
telecom infrastructure equipment will grow to $230 billion in
2002 from $180 billion in 1998.
* CVC Inc. <CVCI.O>, which supplies equipment for the
fabrication of thin film recording heads for data storage and
semiconductor devices, raised $35 million through its IPO.
The shares of the Rochester, N.Y.-based firm closed up
15/16 at 10-15/16 on the Nasdaq after its $10 a share IPO.
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REUTERS
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