No IPOs are scheduled for this week. Then again, the market may need some time to catch its breath. Last week, nine deals came out, and five posted gains of 20%+.
The mega offering was Workday (NYSE:WDAY), which soared 74%. The company operates a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERTP) platform, which helps companies manage their financials, inventory and HR. Workday focuses on large enterprises, with its customer count at over 340. From fiscal 2009 to 2012, revenues have soared from $25.2 million to $134.4 million.
Another of last week’s standout deals was Realogy (NYSE:RLGY). It’s the largest residential real-estate services company in the U.S. (its market share is about 26%). Some of the company’s brands include Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sotheby’s International Realty and Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate. It also has other businesses, such as for relocation and settlement/title services.
Over the years, Realogy has reduced its annual operating expenses by $500 million and has invested heavily in online channels, such as with Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) and Trulia (NYSE:TRLA). But the biggest driver is the rebound of the real estate market (the second quarter saw a nice improvement in unit sales and prices).
Last week even saw strength with biotech deals. For example, Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KYTH) clocked a 19% return. The company is developing an injectable treatment to cure the dreaded “double chin.”
Then there was Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT), which has a drug to treat severe liver problems. Its gain for the week was 27%.
Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPOPlaybook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He is also the author of “How to Create the Next Facebook.” Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
A long-time follower of the IPO scene, back in 1999 Tom started one of the first sites in the space called WebIPO. It was a place where investors got research as well as access to deals for the dot-com boom. Tom also wrote the top-selling book, Investing in IPOs. In it, he covers all the aspects of analyzing an IPO, such as reading the prospectus, detecting the risk factors and understanding some of the arcane regulations. But don’t worry — if that process is too intimidating for you, thankfully Tom will do the legwork for you right here in the IPO Playbook blog.
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