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To: bargainman who wrote (10816)	6/24/1999 11:23:00 AM
From: Jenne	Respond to of 19700

Todays action is all about interest rates IMO **** Jun 24 1999 5:04AM ET More on Hot Stocks... IPOs: The Door Isn't Closing Just Yet by Eric C. Fleming Stocks Reporter "The IPO market we had today shows that there is capital to go into the market, and that is good." -- Bob Stovall, Stovall/Twenty-First Advisers At a glance, investors may have the opinion that many companies are pushing to get their IPOs on the market before the market drops off from its record level. Look again: Things may not be as active as they seem. Scanning through the past few weeks, most offerings that have made it to market aren't getting premiums, despite the publicity that a few big winners have received. And looking at past IPO activity, the apparent spate of public offerings in the current pipeline isn't near record levels. So, what can the average investor infer from these facts? 1) The quality of companies stepping forward may not be strong, despite a flood of offerings. This week alone, more than 20 stocks have or are expected to start trading. But some offerings, such as Mail.com Inc.'s {MAIL}, have cut their ranges to match softer demand for IPOs. Mail.com was forced to trim its price to $6.375 a share to $8.375 from $10 to $12 a share. 2) With weaker companies coming on the market in greater numbers, the nosebleed gains from companies are becoming few and far between. Digital Lava Inc. {DGV}, for example, slipped 13 percent in its first day trading in February after pricing at $7.50 a share, and currently trades below its offering price. Even though Globespan Semiconductor {GSPN} gained 182 percent and Ariba {ARBA} flying up 291 percent on Wednesday, Salon.com {SALN} barely budged from its offering price, illustrating the mottled state of IPO market. "The IPO market we had today shows that there is capital to go into the market, and that is good," said Bob Stovall at Stovall/Twenty-First Advisers on CNBC's Market Wrap. 3) Percentage moves don't tell the whole picture. Recent larger offerings, such as DLJ Direct Inc.'s {DIR} tracking issue of 16 million shares and Barnesandnoble.com's {BNBN} 25 million-share issue, had a lot more inertia than most IPOs that have sizes from 2 million to 5 million shares. And three deals, the Goldman Sachs {GS}, Pepsi Bottling {PBG} and Delphi Automotive {DPH}, have skewed recent numbers, making up one-third of the volume so far this year, according to Securities Data Corp. 4) The past as prologue. The glory days for the IPOs, as far as raising capital is concerned, was 1996, when 876 companies raised $50 billion dollars. As we roll into the end of the second quarter, about $22 billion has been raised during 1999. Not including the big three deals (Goldman, Pepsi and Delphi), only about $14 billion deals have been done year-to-date. To be fair, demand for IPOs has improved from last year. About 33 percent of the 219 stocks that have gone public so far this year had their pricing ranges boosted, up from 16 percent in 1998. Also, issues that priced at the top or above of the range doubled to 25 percent from 12 percent last year. But some companies are still holding off from facing the scrutiny of the public markets. CRL Network Services Inc. dropped out of the running earlier this month. More recently, Stride & Associates' issue of 4.35 million was also put on ice. In total, there's been 17 withdrawals to date since the beginning of May, up from six in the same period a year ago, according to Securities Data Corp. And the calendar is just as fat as last year. About three dozen companies have filed so far this month, from 43 last June. For the year thus far, the herd has thinned a bit, to 217 issues from 284 last year. What's it all mean to the investor on the street? It means cool it, stop obsessing about every IPO and get downright persnickety about which offering in which you want to throw your money. Although demand may not be as active as in recent years, it's a buyers' market, so take advantage of it. If you are considering investing in a company after it hits the market - or if you are lucky enough to get a piece on a IPO before it starts trading - think twice about your investment decision - you'll have other chances.