Today's three IPO debuts had mixed pricings

Today's three IPO debuts had mixed pricings, with one pricing above the stated range, one within and one below, showing investors are being selective despite strong returns in the IPO market as a whole. The FTSE Renaissance US IPO Index is up 19% year-to-date.

ExactTarget, which provides on-demand interactive marketing solutions to 4,700 clients, raised $161.5 million on Wednesday by offering 8.5 million shares at $19, well above the original $15 to $17 range.

The two largest shareholders are venture capital firms Technology Crossover Ventures (22.4% post-IPO stake) and Greenspring Associates (15.5%), both of which expressed interest in buying shares on the offering. Two other VC-firms, Battery Ventures and Scale Venture Partners, will have 15.2% and 6.2% post-IPO stakes. ExactTarget abandoned its first attempt to go public in 2009 after securing $70 million in venture capital financing.

Sales for 2011 were $207 million, a 55% increase, but the net loss grew from $12 million to $35 million. Rising sales and marketing costs were the biggest culprit in the decline, as headcount increased 25% to 404.

ExactTarget listed on the NYSE under the symbol "ET". J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank Securities and Stifel Nicolaus Weisel were the lead managers on the deal. The company is trading up +29% from its IPO price.

Vantiv, which provides payment processing services to merchants and financial institutions, raised $500 million by offering 29 million shares at $17, the midpoint of the range of $16 to $18.

This payment processor was a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank until private equity firm Advent International bought a controlling stake in 2009. Vantiv provides merchant acquiring services that enable 400,000 merchants to accept credit, debit and prepaid payments. It also offers card processing, payment network processing and other services to 1,300 financial institutions. For the 4Q11, net revenue grew 34% year-over-year to $243 million.

Vantiv began trading on the NYSE on Thursday under the symbol VNTV. J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse acted as joint bookrunners on the deal. The stock is showing a 14% return from its offer price.

Caesarstone, a leading Israeli manufacturer of engineered quartz for kitchen countertops, raised $73 million by offering 6.7 million shares (15% insider) at $11.00, well below the range of $14.00 to $16.00. The deal size was 27% smaller than expected.

Founded by an Israeli kibbutz, this maker of high-quality engineered quartz for kitchen countertops has achieved a leading 13% global market share with distribution in 42 countries. For the year ended December 31, 2011, revenue increased 31% thanks to a 6% increase in volume and a 23% increase in average selling prices due to the shift to direct distribution in the US and Canada.

Caesarstone began trading on the NASDAQ on Thursday under the symbol CSTE. J.P. Morgan, Barclays and Credit Suisse acted as joint bookrunners on the deal. Caesarstone was up slightly after falling below its IPO price in early trading.

Renaissance Capital had Pre-IPO Research research available on these companies prior to their pricing. For information on how to obtain our complete reports with rating and valuation model, please contact Renaissance Capital.