Computer Literacy finally takes off
After two false starts, Net operator tests IPO revival
By Darren Chervitz, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:35 PM ET Nov 20, 1998
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Less than a month after withdrawing its IPO filing,
online retailer Computer Literacy rose 90 percent on its U.S. stock market
debut Friday, but only after a couple of confusing false starts that may have
hurt the stock's early performance.
The stock finally opened at 23 at about 12:20 pm ET, but fell to 18 5/8 in
trading of nearly 2 million shares.
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company (CMPL) priced its 3 million-share offering at
$10 per share, above the original $7 to $9 range set by lead underwriter
NationsBanc Montgomery Securities.
Early in the morning, two small trades of 500 shares at 15 were recorded, but
NationsBanc Montgomery Securities syndicate manager Dick Smith called
that a false start. "It's a stray that doesn't mean anything," he said. "It's
some small investor pushing buttons out there in e-commerce land."
Indeed, small false trades for anticipated IPOs have been appearing more
frequently recently.
Subsequently, a number of trades at 30 -- which would have given Computer
Literacy a first-trade premium of 200 percent -- began flying across the tape.
Although Smith couldn't be reached for comment, his assistant said those
trades were also not legitimate.
In late October, the company officially withdrew its
July IPO filing but quickly filed a new prospectus with
the exact same estimated pricing terms after
successful recent debuts from EarthWeb (EWBX) and
Theglobe.com (TGLO).
A wider opening
|
