ONI triples following successful IPO
Despite tepid investor interest in many initial public offerings this spring, stock in the networking firm more than triples after it raises $200 million in its IPO.
ONI Systems, which sold 8 million shares at $25 each, peaked at $85.75 before dipping slightly to close at $84.63.
The optical network equipment maker had earlier raised its pricing range from $14 to $16 a share to between $21 to $23 a share. The firm raised $200 million in the IPO.
ONI Systems of San Jose, Calif., is a start-up that competes against Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and other networking firms, whose equipment allows service providers to build high-speed optical networks that can handle the current explosion of Internet traffic in metropolitan areas. Fiber-optic networks transmit signals as pulses of light rather than electronic signals, allowing them to handle a greater volume of traffic at higher speeds.
Despite the recent dismal showing of IPOs, networking firms have fared well on Wall Street.
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Before that, network equipment maker ArrowPoint Communications in late March saw its shares shoot up from $34 to $118 in its first day of trading. ArrowPoint has since been acquired by Cisco.