Blaze Fires Up IPO Engines

Priced at $16 per share, San Jose, Calif.-based Blaze opened at $34.25 and closed its first day at $27.75. It has been on cruise control ever since.

The initial public offering (IPO) of 4 million shares, led by Robertson-Stephens, raised $64-million. Blaze provides software and consulting and professional services that help customers plan, develop, and implement custom e-business solutions.

Other recent IPOs got a jump-start when analysts upgraded their stock ratings. Shares of Lante Corp. rose 2 percent Thursday after Deutsch Banc Alex Brown upgraded the stock to a strong buy and set a $90 price target.

"Investors are beginning to delineate along three dimensions: organic growth, perceived thought leadership and quality. On all three grounds, Lante increasingly ranks at the top, along with Sapient [Corp.], Proxicom [Inc.] and Scient [Corp.]," said Deutsch Banc analyst Mark D'Annolfo.

Meanwhile, Palm Inc. last week received a long-term buy rating and a 12-month price target of $65 per share from Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst William Crawford.

"The company has proven that less can be more, maintaining its market share in the face of more featured but complex devices," Crawford said. "Palm's popularity and openness has attracted a loyal following of users [approaching 6 million] and application developers [close to 40,000]."

After market close March 28, Palm reported third-quarter earnings of $15.5 million, or 3 cents per share, an increase of 78 percent over the $8.7 million it reported in the third quarter of fiscal 1999. Analysts had predicted earnings of one cent per share.

Onvia.com Inc. received a double shot of good news last Monday after receiving strong buy ratings from Credit Suisse First Boston and EOffering.

"Onvia has pioneered a business model that we believe the industry will look back on in 12 to 18 months as shining a light through a fog of confusion," said Credit Suisse First Boston analyst George Gilbert.

EOffering analyst John Ederer said he also considers Onvia a premium company positioned to capture a significant share of the small-business e-commerce market.

Breakaway Solutions Inc. filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a secondary offering of 3 million shares, led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The Boston-based e-business solutions provider will offer 1.8 million shares, and 1.2 million shares will be offered by stockholders.

Another upcoming IPO is scheduled to take place concurrently in the United States and internationally. ZLand.com Inc., an Aliso Viejo-based ASP, plans an offering of up to $50 million led by Credit Suisse First Boston.

ZLand offers Web-based software applications and related services that enable small and midsize businesses to take their operations online and automate their business processes.

Finally, AT&T Corp. wants to sell between 360 million and 414 million shares of its new AT&T Wireless Group for between $26 and $32 per share. The offering, expected in late April or early May, could bring in $13.25 billion, making it the largest IPO in history.CRN

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