After the market turmoil of last week, when ten IPOs were postponed and Carbonite (CARB) was forced to slash its price by 34% to get to market, Tudou (TUDO) became the only IPO to brave the markets this week, selling 6 million ADSs at $29, the midpoint of its proposed range.
Although its IPO got off to a solid start, Tudou ultimately proved no match against the extreme volatility that continued to rock the markets this week. Tudou has traded down each day since its debut, closing down -12% on its first day, and down -33% for the week. In contrast, rival Youku (YOKU) gained 13% on Wednesday after reports surfaced that Tencent Holdings may be considering an investment in the company. Youku's stock tumbled amid a broader sell-off, closing down -13% for the week.
Tudou is hardly alone in its first day stumbles; 29 out of the 96 IPOs priced this year (roughly 30%) have closed below their IPO prices on their trading debuts. Of these, three have bounced back and produced positive returns over their IPO prices, including Chinese online dating site Jiayuan (DATE), which dropped -4% on its first day but is now trading up 25%, Chinese online children's entertainment platform Taomee (TAOM), which recovered from a -9% debut to a total return of 3%, and manufacturer of orthopedic implants Tornier (TRNX), which closed down -5% on its first day and now trades 8% above its IPO price.
No IPOs are expected to price next week as the IPO market goes on a traditional summer hiatus. IPO activity should pick up after Labor Day though, with 173 IPOs in the US pipeline, including a number of energy IPOs and a heavy backlog of tech/Internet IPOs. However, the overall IPO market may face continued headwinds from the ongoing debt crisis in Europe and renewed signs of weakness in the US economy. Without an improvement to the current economic backdrop, only the highest quality deals will be able to push through persistent market volatility.
