| Archipelago IPO prices below range (AX) 11.50: Archipelago prices its IPO at $11.50, below its expected range of $13.25-$15.25. The co operates the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx, the first open all-electronic stock market in the US. Through its alliance with the Pacific Exchange, or PCX, it operates ArcaEx as the exclusive equities trading facility of PCX Equities, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pacific Exchange. Through ArcaEx, its customers can trade over 8,000 equity securities. Last year, customers executed 295.1 mln transactions through ArcaEx, and it handled 24.6% of the total trading volume on the Nasdaq. The co links traders to multiple US market centers without market intermediaries by directing customers' orders to other market centers that display a better price than its trading system. The co posted sales of $458 mln last year, up 28% yoy, and recorded a profit.... Exchange stocks have been weak with Instinet (INGP) and Knight Trading (NITE) near 52-week lows, although Chicago Merc (CME) has been strong. The pricing of this deal is weak as these stocks tend to trade with the market overall. The pricing of this deal has clearly been hurt by the extremely weak stock market of late with double-digit declines in volatile groups such as Semis, Software and Networking. This is an 11 mln share deal led by Goldman and JP Morgan and begins trading today. |
