Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : IDT *(idtc) following this new issue?* -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawaii60 who wrote (7480)	5/9/1999 8:35:00 PM
From: blankmind	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 30916

Love Affair With Internet IPOs Evolving BY RESHMA KAPADIA NEW YORK (Reuters) - The initial public offering market has not ended its Internet infatuation, but it has become more selective, and companies wooing investors with a recognizable name and strong backers are the most likely to find true love. The number of deals being rushed to a market apparently losing its craving for the issues has sparked a ''pickiness'' and moderated gains in recent high tech IPOs, analysts said. In May, a total of 59 IPOs are expected versus 51 deals last May and 37 in April 1999, according to research firm Securities Data. No longer is every issue remotely connected to the Internet expected to record stratospheric gains, analysts said. ''There is a saturation of the market,'' said Steve Tekirian, an analyst at Standard & Poors. ''I think we are still going to see Internet companies go out and double or triple, but now not all of them will have huge performances.'' One Internet-related IPO, Comps.com, last week did what was unimaginable only months before, trading below its offering price. The real estate information company, priced at $15 per share on May 4, last traded at $13.75. NetObjects Inc. got off to a wobbly start Friday, dipping below its offering price of $12, before rising to $13. Recent volatility in US markets and bouts of weakness in Internet stocks are also ''clearly having some effect on the Internet IPO market although I still think better positioned companies will do fine,'' said Ryan Jacob, fund manager at the Internet Fund. Investors' experience is also contributing to the market's cooling. ''Part of it is that some people have been badly burned with online guys playing in Internet stocks,'' said Dick Smith, managing director, syndicate, at NationsBank Montgomery Securities. He noted Securities and Exchange Commission's Arthur Levitt's recent warning to online investors and day traders to remember the traditional rules of investing. ''And then the traditional laws of gravity have returned: the quality of the issue is important and the institutional leadership is important. The overall market has also been mixed. Therefore, we are getting a more selective process which is normal and healthy,'' Smith added. ''The glut of '.com' issues has made '.com' lose its appeal,'' said Steve Harmon, senior vice president of investments at Internet.com. ''It is the end of a cycle in this current chapter.'' Positive earnings reports and secondary offerings from the established Internet sector have wooed away some IPO demand, Harmon added. Although Harmon does not anticipate a spate of postponements yet, he expects a lot of the deals waiting in the wings to go public at their initial price range or even below, adding that most just want to get out. However, analysts expect deals with recognizable names and strong backers to stand out from the crowd. One such deal this week is from financial website TheStreet.com, which is planning to offer 5.5 million shares expected to price between $11 and $13 with Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter. TheStreet.com, which charges its users, has a leg up on the free sites that crowd the Internet because it attracts big personalities to write for it, said Tekirian. ''In the short-term, it will be a big deal. People will go gangbusters for that deal,'' he added. Other deals expected to generate strong interest this week are Alloy Online, a web site geared toward young people ages 10 to 24 -- the so-called ''Generation Y''. Alloy plans to offer 3.7 million shares at $10 to $12 per share through lead underwriter BancBoston Robertson Stephens. Businesses focused on Generation Y have done well; iTurf Inc. went public at $22 per share in April and was last trading near $32.75. Copper Mountain Networks, which offers digital subscriber lines, and Time Warner Telecom, a competitive local exchange carrier, are also seen as hot deals for the week. biz.yahoo.com