Wednesday 22 June 2011

Turning A Profit With IPO Investing

By Anne Harvester


Many people are watchful as companies begin to go public. Even in a time when the economy is down, this can be seen as a way to get in on the ground floor of a great money making opportunity. IPO investing is tricky and can be a financial gold mine for those who know how to make the right judgments through the process. IPO is the initial public offering of stock for a private company that is trying to raise money by offering to sell stock on the open market.

Make sure to do the research before making investments. All companies are required to provide a prospectus. This is a document that provides financial information as well as forward looking statements. The company puts this together to provide potential investors with information to help them make the decision on whether or not to purchase stock.

Not everyone is allowed to participate in the initial offering. Depending on the size of the company and how they plan on opening their stock, many limit the purchases to certain levels of investment. In order to prevent millions of small purchases, they can set the price and minimum purchase high enough to limit the bids to a higher income set of investors.

Understanding the potential for the product and market are valuable in making the decision. Many companies are smaller but still have great innovation. Understanding the product they are offering or developing and whether or not it has a viable market can help forecast the future. There are many occasions where companies were ahead of their time and years after the IPO, they became name brands because of their foresight.

Find out what the executives and founders are doing with their options. Many people may own stock in a company before it opens to the public. If it seems that everyone on the inside are planning on putting all or nearly all of their stock up for sale, you may want to be cautious that they are not planning on sticking around.

The type of underwriting for the offering can tell its own story. Typically, a bank or investment company is involved in helping a company go public. A firm commitment type of underwriting is when the bank guarantees that a certain level of money will be raised. If the goal is not met, they will make up the difference by purchasing remaining stock. A best effort type of sale means the bank is not confident enough to commit their own investment funds to make up the difference.

There are different reasons for investing in a company. Some prefer to make quick money off of the sudden rise that usually accompanies an IPO. They will often purchase stock right away and resell it as the price goes up. Others prefer to hold onto the stock for the duration because they would like to participate in dividends and other longer term benefits.

IPO investing can be a very profitable venture if the homework is done. Making sure you are aware of the founders' intentions, the banks backing, and have read the prospectus are all necessary before deciding to invest in any company. With these understandings, you will be much better equipped to make a profit through this type of activity.




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