Thursday, March 29, 2012

Millennial Media soars in IPO

Dot-com survivor CafePress is one of two tech ventures going public on Thursday.

Dot-com survivor CafePress is one of two tech ventures going public on Thursday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's a hot week for public debuts. Shares of two tech-related companies, CafePress and Millennial Media, gained in their initial public offerings Thursday.

Millennial (MM) more than doubled in early trading. It priced its initial public offering at $13 per share, the high end of its range. Shares opened on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at $25, and they quickly rose to $27.50 each. About an hour into the session, they fell back slighty to $25.65.

Founded in 2006, Millennial Media has emerged as a competitor to behemoth rivals Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500). Facebook, which has dominated in display advertising, has so far ignored the mobile ad sector -- though that may change soon. Facebook said last month that it would start expanding into mobile ads.

CafePress (PRSS), which was founded in 1999, also began trading Thursday on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

CafePress opened at $21.50 and quickly rose to $22.57. The company, which was founded in 1999 and survived the early-2000s dot-com bust, prints custom designs on items like T-shirts and mugs.

It priced its IPO at $19 a share, above the $16 to $18 range it had set previously.

CafePress and Millennial are just two of 10 companies expected to go public this week. On Wednesday, organic food company Annie's (BNNY) closed 89% higher after pricing at the top of its range.

Two other companies that went public Wednesday also surged. Vocera Communications (VCRA), a maker of health care technology, closed 32% higher, and consumer finance company Regional Management (RM) finished the day up nearly 10%.

Investors appear to have an insatiable appetite for IPOs this year. According to the New York Stock Exchange, the average return for IPOs on their first day of trading this year is 15%. 



Source & Image : CNN Money

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