IPO busts: 1-800-Flowers.com, Quotesmith.com flop

Three initial public offerings were "broken" in their debuts Tuesday as investors resisted the temptation to jump on another round of new Internet stocks.

1-800-Flowers.com (Nasdaq: FLWS) closed off 2 13/16 to 18 3/16 after pricing its offering at $21 a share late Monday. The stock momentarily shot up to a high of 22 1/4 before losing ground.

The company had originally planned to sell 6 million shares at between $16 to $18 a share.

Its lackluster performance must be a bitter disappointment for lead underwriter Goldman Sachs.

Competitor FTD.com Inc. (Proposed ticker: EFTC) is supposed to price Wednesday night for an IPO on Thursday. Its range is now between $13 to $15 a share.

There were high hopes for the online flower broker.

"I think 1-800-Flowers.com will do exceptionally well," said Steve Lacey, an editor at IPO Reporter, prior to Tuesday's flop. "It's one of the stronger names."

The Westbury, N.Y.-based company, which also sells plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods and garden accessories, raked in sales of more than $203 million for the nine months ended March 28, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Although industry watchers predict FTD.com's stock will have a solid debut, they expect the Downers Grove, Ill.-based firm to lag behind its bigger competitor. Not good considering 1-800-Flower.com had a "broken" IPO.

Among other IPOs Tuesday.