Half the companies listed since 2006 ruling below offer price
Stocks across the sectors take a beating K.S. Badri Narayanan Chennai, March 21 Investors who subscribed to the initial public offer, in the first quarter of 2006, of shares by Sadbhav Engineering are a fortunate lot. Against an investment of Rs 185, the stock closed at Rs 1,080 on Wednesday, an appreciation of more than five-fold in the space of just two years. So, is investing in initial public offerings (IPO) a safe bet? The answer is no, if we go by the performance of the IPOs of the last two years. Actually there is one in two chance that you wouldn't have made any money at all. According to data available on NSE Web site, around 181 companies had come out with IPOs to raise money since the commencement of the bull-run that began in early 2006. Of these, about 50 per cent 92 stocks to be precise are quoting below the issue price. Seventy companies approached the market for funds in 2006. The number increased to 89 in 2007 and it is 13 in...