Shares of Rosetta Stone, the language instruction company, jumped almost 44 percent from an initial price of $18 to $25.55 in late-morning trade. It's the third IPO this month (but only the fourth this year), and the respectable performance by new entrants so far is an positive sign that solid companies can still raise capital in the skittish equity markets. Here's a look at April's IPO have trade on Day 1 so far:
Online education firm Bridgepoint Education (BPI) - IPO on 4/15 - 6 percent gain
Chinese game maker Changyou.com (CYOU) - IPO on 4/2 - 25 percent gain
Rosetta Stone (RST) - IPO on 4/16 - 44 percent gain
Numbers like those are definitely encouraging. Even if the above deals were conservatively priced at the outset (Bridgepoint did cut its IPO price before its debut), they show demand is slowly outpacing fear in another formerly shunned corner of the market.
Tony Lee of CA @ Apr 17, 2009 14:46:51 PM