IPO Update: ArrowPoint takes flight

Networking specialist ArrowPoint Communications (Nasdaq: ARPT) closed up 84 31/64, or 248 percent, to 118 31/64 Friday in its initial public offering.

The company nearly doubled its range to $30 to $32 per share from $15 to $17 a share.

"This is a classic Web infrastructure deal," said Kenan Pollack of IPO Central, who called ArrowPoint one of the most interesting and promising deals he's seen this year. The company makes intelligent switches , which are very much in demand, he said, comparing the deal with Foundry (Nasdaq: FDRY), one of 1999's hottest debuts.

The fact that this is a Goldman Sachs deal, and a 5 million share offering also indicates the company should get a good first-day pop, Pollack added.

For the year ended December 31, ArrowPoint had a net loss of $12.6 million on revenue of $12.4 million. In 1998, net loss was $9.4 million on revenue of $201 000.

The company's competitors include large networking equipment companies such as Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), as well as companies such as Alteon WebSystems (Nasdaq: ATON), F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV) and Foundry Networks.

Lead underwriter for the deal is Goldman Sachs, co-managers include Deutsche Banc Alex Brown and J.P. Morgan.