Friday Brings Two Sizzling IPOs and One Sleeper IPO

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By Paul Ausick Updated Published
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Three initial public offerings (IPOs) hit the tape Friday morning, and the results were decidedly mixed. Two priced above their expected ranges and one below its. But in general, the IPO market remains solid.

Abengoa Yield PLC (NASDAQ: ABY) shares spiked right out of the gate. The company was spun out of Spain’s Abengoa S.A. (NASDAQ: ABGB) as a vehicle to own, manage and acquire renewable energy, conventional power and electric transmission lines and other assets in the United States, Mexico, South America and Spain. The company sold 24.9 million shares at an IPO price of $29, above the expected range of $25 to $27, and raised $721 million. Abengoa Yield also sold more shares than its planned 23.1 million, and the underwriters have an overallotment option on an additional 3.47 million shares. The company’s market value at the IPO price is about $2.32 billion. Shares began trading above $35 and hit a peak of $37, before pulling back to trade at $35.68, up about 23%, just ahead of the noon hour.

Memorial Resources Development Corp. (NASDAQ: MRD) priced its IPO of 42.8 million shares at $19. The plan had been to sell 36 million shares in a range of $16 to $18. Memorial is an independent oil and natural gas company with primary operations in the Terryville play in northern Louisiana. Of the shares offered, 21.5 million were sold by the company and 21.3 million by selling shareholders. The company raised gross proceeds of $812 million. At the IPO price, Memorial’s market value is about $3.3 billion. Shares opened at $21.26 and rose to $22.21, before pulling back to $22.00, up about 15.8%, shortly before noon Friday.

Aspen Aerogels Inc. (NYSE: ASPN) priced its IPO Thursday night at $11 a share, well below the expected range of $14 to $16. The manufacturer of high-performance aerogel insulation materials that are used in large-scale energy infrastructure facilities like refineries and petrochemical plants did raise the number of shares on offer from 6.7 million to 7.5 million, and Aspen’s market value at the IPO price is about $309 million. Shares opened at $11.00 and slipped to $10.53. Just before the noon hour, shares were trading at $10.78, down 2%.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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