The volatile start to the year is spilling into the initial public offering market, which is beginning to price new products after a one-month hiatus.
Or not. Of the three that were scheduled to price last night, two priced below their range, and the third was postponed due to market conditions.
Not a great start to the year.
Patriot National, which provides a workers' compensation marketplace for insurance companies, priced 8.3 million shares at $14, well below the price talk of $16 to $18. This was its second shot at going public. In 2010, when it was known as Patriot Risk Management, the company tried to go public, but the offer was withdrawn due to market conditions.
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In a small deal, Country Bancorp, a Wisconsin-based bank, priced 1.2 million shares at $15.75, below the price talk of $16.
Finally, Sutherland Asset Management, a real estate finance company that acquires, originates, manages, services, and finances primarily SBC loans, postponed its IPO due to market conditions.
"Market conditions," by the way, is just an old Wall Street phrase that means "We can't find enough buyers at the price we want."
As one veteran IPO watcher said to me this morning, "You start the year with the wind at your back, and now you have both feet on banana peels."
Maybe things will change by next Friday, when cloud-based content platform Box is scheduled to price 12.5 million shares at $11 to $13.
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Three large regional banks reported earnings this morning, and the key takeaway is that all three modestly beat earnings expectations and loan growth for two of the three was a bit stronger than expected. Only Suntrust was a bit light:
Banks: year-over-year loan growth (source: Nomura)
- Comerica: up 6.9 percent
- PNC: up 4.7 percent
- Suntrust: up 4.1 percent (a bit light)
Net interest margins have dropped a bit—roughly 10 basis points—for everyone quarter-over-quarter because loan rates are lower.
Net interest margins (source: Nomura)
- Comerica: 2.57 percent
- PNC: 2.89 percent
- Suntrust: 2.96 percent