Masonite International, a developer of doors for homes and commercial buildings, has filed for an IPO that could raise as much as $150 million.

The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “DOOR,” and lead underwriters include Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), Barclays (NYSE:BCS) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC).

Masonite, which got its start back in 1925, has always focused on the higher end. The company currently has products like interior molded residential doors, interior stile and rail residential doors and exterior fiberglass residential doors. Besides its namesake Masonite products, it also features other brands including Marshfield, Premdor, Mohawk, Megantic, Algoma, Baillargeon and Birchwood Best. Read 

We should be getting used to this.

When Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) announces its earnings, there’s usually plenty of action, and it’s usually strongly to the downside. The daily-deals site’s reaction following its fourth-quarter report was no different, with the stock falling more than 20% to well below $5 per share. (GRPN came public in November 2011 at $20.)

Going into last night’s announcement, the Street was looking for revenues of $640.2 million and an adjusted profit of 1 cent a share. GRPN deftly maneuvered itself well under the bar, doing sales of $638.8 million (still a year-over-year improvement of 30%) and losing 3 cents per share. Read 

A wise man once said to me that it’s better to own the asset managers themselves than the funds they actually manage.

I don’t know if that’s the case with Artisan Partners, which plans to go public soon — nine out of the 11 Artisan funds eligible for rating from Morningstar have at least four stars.

This week, the independent investment manager set the terms of its IPO, which will include selling 11.5 million shares in a range of $27 to $29 each in hopes of raising as much as $352 million in net proceeds. Known in the industry for providing its portfolio managers significant autonomy, its business model has led its investment teams to outperform the appropriate benchmarks. However, with just $79.5 billion in assets under management, it definitely can’t be confused with BlackRock (NYSE:BLK). Read 

Guidewire (NYSE:GWRE), which develops software for the insurance industry, just wrote another chapter in its growth story.

Positive results from Guidewire’s fiscal second quarter sent GWRE shares up more than 18% in midday Wednesday trading, bringing the company’s returns to more than 140% since it came public just more than a year ago.

In Q2, Guidewire’s revenues improved 31% to $72.2 million, and adjusted earnings per share improved similarly to 21 cents per share — both metrics beat Street expectations of $64.26 million and 19 cents per share, respectively. Read 

I’ve interviewed SilkRoad CEO Flip Filipowski, several times because he’s a legend in the software business, having built multibillion-dollar companies like Cullinet and Platinum.

Now it looks like he’ll have another big win with Silkroad.

The company, which is a cloud provider of HR services, is prepping for an IPO — a goal he’s never been shy about in previous talks. According to a report from Reuters, the company has already selected its lead investment bankers, which include JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC). The deal likely will come in the second half of the year. Read 

When it comes to Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA), investors only seem to care about one thing right now:  real-money gambling.

The company’s Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) business has faltered, and Zynga still is trying to find ways to get traction with mobile games. But when it comes to real-money gambling, Zynga could be in an ideal position.

Good thing. Nevada just legalized it. Read