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Moldflow gains, Artistdirect falls in IPO debuts

2 min read

Moldflow Corp. (Nasdaq: MFLO) rose 2 1/4 to 15 1/4 after it priced 3 million shares at $13 each, in the middle of its $12-$14 range.

The company, which offers software that aids companies design and manufacture injection molded plastic parts, said it will likely net $34.8 million from the offering, according to an amended prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

After the offering there will be about 9.1 million shares of common stock outstanding in the company, putting its initial market capitalization at approximately $118 million based on a $13 per share initial price, the midpoint of the price range.

The underwriters for the offering include Adams, Harkness & Hill Inc. and A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.

In other IPO news:

  • Artistdirect (Nasdaq: ARTD) slid 2 19/32 to 9 13/32 Tuesday after pricing its 5 million share offering at $12 a piece, at the top of its range of $10 to $12 a share.

    The company provides music through its Artistdirect network of Web sites offering multimedia content, music news and information and music-related commerce.

    "This is a tough one to call," said Kenan Pollack of IPO Central. "The MP3 phenomenon is going to keep growing, but retail stocks are getting pounded, " he said, giving CDNow (Nasdaq: CDNW) as an example of a great emusic company that's "teetering on being a dollar stock."

    The company's net loss for the year ended Dec. 31 was more than 10 times its revenue; pro forma revenue was $5.3 million, while loss was $57.8 million. In 1998, revenue was $1.5 million and loss was $6.3 million.

    The company's competitors include mp3.com (Nasdaq: MPPP), Launch Media (Nasdaq: LAUN), Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Cdnow (Nasdaq: CDNW), CheckOut.com, as well as other Internet portals and traditional music companies.

    Competition is increasing, along with consolidation, the company said. For example, Universal Music Group and BMG Entertainment recently formed a joint venture to operate an online music store.

    Of the $64.6 million in net loss Artistdirect has accumulated since its inception, $35.9 million came from stock-based compensation expense, the company said.

    Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is lead underwriter for the deal.