Mixed fortunes for new entrants at the markets

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - Investors warmed up to two of the three companies making their debut on Friday, flocking to shares of specialty retailer Mattress Firm Holding (MFRM.O), while shunning those of Intermolecular (IMI.O), which fell below the offer price.

The other entrant, Manning & Napier (MN.N), which offers investment management services, was trading up 4 percent at $12.42 on the New York Stock Exchange, having priced the offer below its expected range.

The companies made their debut during the small window of opportunity between the November 4 debut of Groupon Inc (GRPN.O) and the Thanksgiving weekend.

"The Groupon debut turned a lot of attention to the IPO market and these companies were ready to go if they could, but time is running short for companies that want to list before the end of the year," said IPOdesktop.com analyst Francis Gaskins.

Intermolecular, which develops proprietary technology for the semiconductor and clean energy industries, fell as much as 8 percent in early trading and was down 5 percent at $9.50 on Nasdaq, below its offer price of $10.

The San Jose, California-based company had initially planned a $200 million IPO, but cut the offering size and was expecting to sell its shares between $12 and $14.

Poor market conditions and shares that were perceived as expensive worked against Intermolecular, said David Menlow, President of IPOfinancial.com.

Manning & Napier, which was founded in 1970 and has $42.2 billion assets under management as of October31, sold 12.5 million shares at $12 per share.

Specialty bedding retailer Mattress Firm Holding Corp (MFRM.O), however, attracted strong investor interest and rose as much as 20 percent on Nasdaq, after pricing its IPO at the high end of its range.

"They (Mattress Firm) have a track record of success and increase in sales and earnings, and their after tax margins are consistently 6 or 7 percent which is very good in the specialty retail area," IPOdesktop.com analyst Gaskins said.

Shares of Mattress Firm Holding closed about 16 pct up at $22, while Intermolecular's shares fell 5 percent to close at $9.50 on Friday on Nasdaq.

Shares of New York Stock Exchange listed Manning & Napier closed flat at $12 on Friday.

(Reporting by Aman Shah and Tanya Agrawal in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane and Sriraj Kalluvila)