In recent years, the number of companies “going public,” or selling stock to the public for the first time, has increased dramatically. Investors seeking to profit from these “IPOs” purchase new shares of stock soon after they are issued, hoping that their market value will increase in the near future. Below is a guide to researching IPOs at the Kirstein Business Library.

GENERAL WORKS

Arkebauer, James B. Going Public: Everything You Need to Know to Take Your Company Public, Including Internet Direct Public Offerings. Chicago, IL: Dearborn Financial Pub., 1998. ( HG4028.S7 A75 1998) Includes a concise, informative chapter– written especially for the IPO investor– containing tips for researching and analyzing companies and reading SEC filings. Also covers the process of taking a company public from start to finish.

Field, Drew. Direct Public Offerings: The New Method for Taking Your Company Public.Although this book focuses primarily on DPOs, or direct public offerings, where shares are sold by a company toinvestors through direct marketing, it also includes information about the mechanics and pricingof IPOs.

Klein, Andrew D. Wall Street.com: Fat Cat Investing At the Click of a Mouse.New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1998. (HG4515.95.K55 1998) This personal investment narrative offers an insiders look at IPOsfrom an individual investors perspective, with a special focus on Internet IPOs.

Petty, J. William, John D. Martin & John W. Kensinger. Harvesting Investments inPrivate Companies. Morristown, NJ: Financial Executives Research Foundation Inc., 1999. (HG4028.S7 P48 1999)This book has a detailed chapter about IPOs, with information about understandingthe pricing market, the process of going public, and valuation for IPOS. It alsoincludes interviews with entrepreneurs and investment advisors about the primaryissues in preparing for an IPO.

PERIODICALS

Investment Dealers’ Digest. Weekly.
“Securities in Registration” section is a convenient alphabetical list of planned IPO’s that have registered with the SEC in the past 6 months.

Investors Business Daily. Daily
This daily investment newspaper include a “New Issues” section that listsIPO filings soon to be priced, as well as listing prices of recent IPOs’.For each IPO it includes the offer date, high filing price, offer price,current price, industry group and lead underwriter.

The Red Herring. Monthly.
A high technology business magazine. “IPO Candidates” section in each issue lists some private companies projected to go public in the next 6 months and the occasional “IPO 100″ column ranks selected technology companies that have gone public in the last year. A special “Going Public”supplement (July issue) surveys the top IPOs of the previous year and includes general articles about the current market for IPOs.

INTERNET SITES

FreeEDGAR
The Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies intending to go public to file registration forms. These forms, called S-1, S-2, SB-1, and SB-2, contain useful information including a business description, financial statements, market price and much of the same information commonly found in public companies’ annual reports.
www.freeedgar.com

Hoover’s IPO Express  (IPO Central)
Search for information on companies that have either recently gone public or filed to do so. Browse most recent filings or search by date, with filings back to 1996. This web site also contains links to S-1 filings with the SEC, a FAQ to IPOs, and a four part guide to understanding IPOS with a definition of common terms. Also includes statistical information under the section “IPO Scorecard.”