Success for technology IPOs continued in a big way last week, as Splunk (SPLK) had the highest first-day return since LinkedIn (LNKD) in May 2010. Its 109% first-day pop contributed to an average return of 36% for the week's six pricings, half of which came from enterprise-focused tech companies. Unlike earlier in the year, the high returns were not the result of price cuts: five of six priced above the midpoint and proceeds for the week were $1.6 billion. In fact, IPO proceeds for the second quarter ($3.2 billion) are already at more than half the level of the first ($5.9 billion), and the two largest deals year-to-date are scheduled for next month (The Carlyle Group and Facebook). Activity is equally strong: even if only half of this week's deals price, there will have been the most pricings (57) through April since 2000.
Three "big data" companies, Splunk, Infoblox and Proofpoint, all priced above the range and were trading up at the end of the week. Splunk, which provides software to enterprises that indexes unstructured data at massive scale, moved its deal up a day and priced at $17, 89% above the midpoint of its initial range. It raised $230 million on Wednesday and was up 110% at the end of the week. Infoblox (BLOX), which provides software-based appliances that automate network control for enterprises, raised $120 million and was up 35%. Proofpoint (PFPT), which provides on-demand data protection solutions to large and mid-sized enterprises, raised $82 million and finished the week up 8%.
High-end retail IPOs continued their successful run with Tumi (TUMI), a premium luggage manufacturer. Like Splunk, it priced a day early, with a deal size of $338 million, and the first day return of 47% was the second highest of the week. The two remaining pricings were both from energy companies. Midstates Petroleum (MPO), a First Reserve-backed oil and gas E&P with 92 producing wells in Louisiana, priced below the range, raising $312 million, and was up 15% after its first day of trading. SandRidge Mississippian Trust II (SDR), a trust formed to own interests in oil and gas wells in the Mississippian formation, raised $546 million and traded up 5%.
Four companies made initial filings last week. Chesapeake Oilfield Services (COS), a Chesapeake-owned oil and gas service provider and operator of the fourth largest rig fleet in the US, filed on Monday to raise up to $863 million. BlackStratus (BLKS), which provides software that centralizes computer security notifications from firewalls, anti-virus programs and other sources, also filed on Monday to raise up to $20 million. Five Below (ticker TBA), a pre-teen to teen-focused retailer that offers all of its products at $5 or below, filed on Wednesday to raise up to $150 million. Finally, Southcross Energy Partners (SXE), which provides natural gas gathering, processing and transportation in the southern US, filed on Friday to raise up to $230 million.
