IPO's Cool Off in 2011, Here Are the Top Winners and Losers

Companies aiming to take their company public varied in 2011, but most attention was focused -- of course -- on the Internet space. The recent offering of Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA), and Groupon's (Nasdaq: GRPN) debut a short while ago all but affirm that thesis.

According to data for the last 12 months to date, there have been 125 IPOs which priced in the U.S., an 18.8 percent decline when compared with 154 for last year. Sadly, data from Renaissance Capital also has the average IPO returning (10.1) percent to investors over the same period.

But what were some of the best and worst performing IPOs for 2011? To make it reasonable, IPOs must have been trading for at least one month to ebb some of the volatility in the stock, and we're sticking to the more notable ones, unless the SandRidge Mississippian Trust (NYSE: SDT) IPO is something worth noting. As a benchmark, the S&P 500 is up just 0.4 percent for 2011, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury is currently yielding about 2 percent (2.03 percent at last check, but it's been +/- 0.1 points).

Winners:

• GNC Holdings (NYSE: GNC) - up 78.8 percent. GNC IPO'd in April at $16, and has been taking some of its own medicine with a near-80 percent gain for the year. GNC is a little more risky than Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE: VSI), with fitness supplements being less of a staple in many peoples lives when compared with multivitmans, but stability can also be a good thing in choppy waters.
  
  
• Imperva Inc. (Nasdaq: IMPV) - up 78.4 percent. Despite coming out in a rather choppy trading environment, Imperva won the hearts of investors and nabbed second spot.
  
  
• Tangoe, Inc. (Nasdaq: TNGO) - up 61.3 percent. Another software/services company seeing some strong gains. Earnings are projected to grow over 55 percent in 2012, leaving room for upside. Tangoe recently acquired Profitline for $23.5 million, and analysts began coverage in September with lots of Buy ratings.
  
  
• ServiceSource Corp. (Nasdaq: SREV) - up 51.1 percent. ServiceSource focuses on company revenue management, much like Accenture and SAP. Shares could move even higher should the global economy make a decent rebound in 2012. Notably, shares have moved to the upside following each of its last three quarterly reports.
  
  
• CVR Partners, LP (NYSE: UAN) - up 43.4 percent. This nitrogen fertilizer producer could be set to run, with the continual expansion of population getting more and more hungry. CVR is a subsidiary of CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI), which also dabbles in oil and gas refining.

Losers:

• FriendFinder Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FFN) - down 93.3 percent. Someone here needs a friend. After IPOing in May at $10 per share, investors have exited as losses continue to grow, and even misses analyst expectations by over 200 percent last quarter.
  
  
• Tibet Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TBET) - down 86.2 percent. This is just a volatile stock. Shares fell 45 percent in early October, only to rise 44 percent later the month. Its auditor resigned is September, and shares continued lower.
  
  
• Imperial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IFT) - down 81.9 percent. Imperial fell at the end of September following word that the FBI was opening an investigation into the firm. Shares have basically been flat ever since. Not something you want to see in your IPO, or any company for that matter.
  
  
• Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) - down 76.0 percent. Renren has been hit throughout the year on speculation surrounding Chinese shell companies trading on U.S. markets. Notable targets have been Sina (Nasdaq: SINA), Youku (Nasdaq: YOKU), and Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN).
  
  
• Sequans Communications S.A. (Nasdaq: SQNS) - down 74.8 percent. Sequans down really in the last few weeks, following a lowered fourth-quarter outlook on cancelled shipments. The stock dropped 25 percent to $2.63 on December 14th, and hasn't really bounced. Might be a good play heading into 2012, with the continued adoption of 4G networks.

Looking to 2012, investors will certainly be waiting for the Facebook S-1 to cross the wires, but others include a potential PriceWaterhouseCoopers offering, Yelp, Univision, and maybe something for the U.S. from U.K. PE giant Carlyle Group.

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Midday movers: Meta, IBM, Caterpillar fall; Chipotle rises
• Airbus revenue rises, delivers 142 commercial aircraft in Q1
• Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO) Tops Q1 EPS by 20c