New York – A slew of companies are expected to test investors’ appetites for initial public offerings of stock in the next few days, setting up what could be one of the busiest weeks for IPOs in recent memory.
The companies include Lazard Ltd., the investment-banking house whose offering has been pushed by Wall Street titan Bruce Wasserstein, and Morningstar Inc., the investment-research provider known for its mutual-fund expertise.
The outcome of this week – where deals are priced and how they perform in the “aftermarket” – could help set the stage for where IPOs go from here.
“It’s absolutely pivotal,” said Ben Holmes, a managing member of Protege Funds LLC, an investment firm in Boulder, that buys IPOs. “If we choke on this supply, it means we’ll probably go into a freeze for a while. If all goes well … we could be looking at healthier calendars going forward.”
