Tomorrow’s News Today
the following is satire...but this deal should give CNBC something to talk about on Friday the 13th
by Mo Mentum
NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters)-Acme Packet, Inc. (APKT-Nasdaq) shares soared nearly 105% in their Nasdaq debut in what was perhaps the most eagerly anticipated IPO since Baidu came public in August of 2005. Underwriters led by Goldman, Sachs and Co. priced 11.5 million shares at $9.50, above the anticipated $8-$9 range, which was increased from $6.50-$7.50.
Acme has staked out the early lead in the nascent market for session border controllers, or SBC’s, that allow service providers to deliver secure interactive voice, video and multimedia sessions across border points on IP networks. The deal was originally scheduled to price in June but was tabled after the Vonage debacle and summer swoon attributed to geopolitical tensions.
Investor demand was brisk according to Jack Ast, head of Nasdaq trading at NiteCapital Group, formerly a prominent market maker on the Nasdaq exchange citing a “deluge of market orders” that reminded him of “TheGlobe.com deal that was the start of the bubble in the 90’s”. Mr. Ast predicted “$30 or bust” but was unavailable for further comment as “we are off to Scores to celebrate our proprietary trading profits this week”.
Timing is Everything
Today shortly after the close our good friends at streetaccount.com posted the following news:
16:18 Deutsche Bank initiates homebuilding sector: CTX, DHI, HOV, LEN, TOA, and TOL Centex (CTX) and Lennar (LEN) are initiated buy with targets of $67 and $56. DR Horton (DHI), Hovnanian (HOV), Technical Olympic (TOA), and Toll Brothers (TOL) initiated hold with targets of $25, $32, $11, and $30.
Less than an hour later Centex lowered guidance dramatically:
Tim Eller, Centex Corporation Chairman and CEO, said, “The housing market continues to adjust rapidly and Centex is executing its balanced approach to effectively manage these transitions. Cancellation rates that were well outside of historical levels diminished our earnings visibility this quarter. We continue to focus on generating cash and on positioning ourselves for strategic reinvestment as business conditions improve. We will provide additional information about our second quarter results in our quarterly conference call and press release.”
Centex Reports Preliminary Second Quarter Results (Yahoo)
Centex closed the after hours trading session at $52.32, down $2.77 from its $55.09 4pm close.
Tomorrow we would expect the hapless Deutsche analyst to:
A) Call in sick and take a 3-day weekend
B) Downgrade the stock to hold and lower his price target in the quickest flip-flop in Wall Street history
C) Pretend like nothing happened when he shows up in the office and deflect attention from his gaffe by talking incessantly about the Mets game
A New Twist for Broker Compensation Incentives
Looks like the old phrase “Eat What You Kill” may be amended to “Eat As Long As You Don’t Kill.” After years of focusing broker incentives purely on financial performance, Wall Street firms are now starting to introduce other factors, including ethics and comportment. At Merrill Lynch, for example, brokers have been given up to $15,000 bonuses based on the results of surveys that measure client experience. According to Gerald Tankersley, a branch complex director at Merrill, “You want the best, the brightest, producers who do the right thing.” Maybe nice guys can finish first--or at least not last.
Paying Brokers for Good Behavior [Marketwatch]
Achtung Baby! Deutsche stole client, gets sued for nearly $11M
Never mind that some deals get so complicated that partners change faster than you can do-si-do in a square dance. Ferris Bueller, oops sorry - that’s Ferris Baker Watts Inc. says financial giant Deutsche Bank Securities swooped in and stole an underwriting deal from the homegrown firm—and Ferris wants Deutsche to cough it up the dough they lost.
Over $10 million worth. Fat chance, baby..
Ferris Baker Watts says Deutsche ‘stole’ client, sues for nearly $11M[Baltimore Business Journal]
