Violin Memory (VMEM): 2-month performance

Endurance International Group (EIGI) began trading on the NASDAQ on 25 October 2013

Description

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. is a provider of cloud-based solutions. Its solutions are designed to help small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB’s). The Company’s products and services includes initial Website design and creation, email and commerce solutions as well as offerings, such as scalable and on-demand computing, security, storage and bandwidth, online marketing, mobile and productivity solutions. The Company’s products and services include Web Presence and Commerce Offerings, Computing Resources and Security Offerings, Marketing Solutions and Productivity Tools.

Address

Suite 300, 10 Corporate Drive
BURLINGTON, MA 01803
United States 

Website links 

www.endurance.com/

Key stats and ratios

	Q2 (Jun '13)	2012
Net profit margin	-33.60%	-47.67%
Operating margin	-8.49%	-30.92%
EBITD margin	-	1.59%
Return on average assets	-11.37%	-10.30%
Return on average equity	-624.43%	-48.61%
Employees	2,580

Hilton Worldwide may raise $2.25 billion in largest-ever IPO by a hotel chain

• Blackstone Group took Hilton Worldwide private in October 2007. 
• Hilton is the world's largest hotel chain with more than 4,000 properties in 88 countries.
• Plan to sell 112.8 million shares for $18-$21 each
• The IPO could gross as much as $2.7 billion, setting it up to be this year's second-biggest after Plains GP Holdings' (PAGP) $2.8 billion offering.
• The IPO would also be the largest ever for a hotel, topping Hyatt Hotels' (H) $1.09 billion offering in November 2009.
• Blackstone, which bought Hilton for $26 billion, doesn't plan to sell shares and would still hold a 76.2% stake valued at $14.6 billion — more than triple the $6.4 billion in equity and subsequent investments it made in the hotel.

By the end of the year, McLean,VA-based Hilton Worldwide is expected to raise $2.25 billion in the largest-ever initial public offering by a hotel chain, and perhaps erase doubts that private equity giant Blackstone Group (BX) erred when it bought the company six years ago.

In addition to its namesake Hilton, the company owns, manages or franchises hotels under brands such as Waldorf Astoria, Embassy Suites, Conrad Hotels & Resorts and DoubleTree.

The Hilton IPO, if successful, will help pay off a portion of the company’s $13 billion in debt and go a long way toward justifying the $26 billion that the Blackstone Group paid for the iconic hotelier.

The IPO will potentially raise twice as much as the $1.1 billion that Hyatt received when it went public in 2009, making it by far the largest hotel public offering on record, according to Dealogic, which follows private equity and initial public offerings.

The Hilton offering comes as the Dow Jones industrial average and other market indexes are reaching new highs, helping revive demand for IPOs. Hilton has not said what price it will set for its stock, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but if there is enough demand it could raise more than its $2.25 billion target.

Within weeks of Blackstone’s purchase of Hilton in 2007, the economy began its long slide downward, putting pressure on the hotel industry and making the deal appear that it was curdling before Hilton had begun chipping away at the huge debt.

The deal became a poster child for leveraged-buyout excesses, with many Wall Street wags, hotel industry mavens and private-equity dealmakers privately denigrating the purchase.

To manage through the rough waters, Blackstone brought in seasoned Washington area hotel executive Christopher J. Nassetta as chief executive. Nassetta had previously led Host Hotels & Resorts, based in Bethesda.

In the six years he has run the giant hotel chain, Nassetta has lowered debt and grown revenue, increasing the number of properties from 2,900 when Blackstone bought it to more than 4,000 today with 1,000 more in the pipeline. The company elevated its brand, including expanding its Waldorf Astoria line, to compete with some of its more polished rivals.

And with the hotel industry far healthier than it was in 2007, especially in the big cities, the company believes the time is right to go back to the public markets.

“The timing seems to be good,” said Jeff Weinstein, editor in chief of Hotels magazine. “The industry fundamentals look strong for a couple of years, and based on prevailing wisdom, Hilton has been a very strong success story in the last four or five years. This [IPO] has been inevitable for a few years.”

Hilton and Blackstone declined to comment, citing restrictions imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees the public equity markets.

But the SEC documents filed by Hilton are revealing.

In the first six months of this year, Hilton reported a profit of $189 million on revenue of $4.6 billion, according to SEC filings.

Blackstone has said in public filings that it will receive none of the proceeds from the IPO and will use the money to reduce Hilton’s debt. But depending on the price of the stock at the time of the offering, Blackstone will still own 75 percent of the company after the IPO and could ultimately earn two times its initial $6 billion equity investment.

“I don’t think they’re monetizing their investment yet, but they’re certainly providing themselves with a mechanism to monetize their investment if the stock market continues to be favorable in 2014,” said Robert Spinna, principal at Park Bridge Financial. “I think most people would tell you they’ve doubled their investment already, and they haven’t even monetized it yet.”

Hilton Worldwide includes more than 4,000 hotels accounting for more than 665,000 rooms as of June 30, according to the filing. The 100-year-old company operates in 90 countries and territories. The company has more than 300,000 employees, including about 7,400 workers in the Washington area.

In addition to its namesake Hilton, the company owns, manages or franchises hotels under brands such as Waldorf Astoria, Embassy Suites, Conrad Hotels & Resorts and DoubleTree.

Vince Holding Corp. (VNCE) began trading on the NYSE on 22 November 2013

Contemporary clothing maker Apparel Holding Corp. changed its name to Vince Holding Corp. (NYSE: VNCE) immediately before its Friday IPO on Friday. The company sold 10 million shares at $20 a share, above the expected range of $17 to $19. Vince Holding makes high-end apparel under several brand names that are sold in department stores like Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus. The stock opened at $29.50 and closed at $28.66, about 43% above the IPO price.

The company visited the NYSE on Monday, November 25, to celebrate its Friday's IPO. Vince executives including CEO Jill Granoff, CFO Lisa Klinger and President Karin Gregersen rang the NYSE Opening Bell.

Vince billboard

Description

Vince Holding Corp, formerly Apparel Holding Corp., is a diversified apparel company. The Company designs, manufactures, and markets a collection of fashion brands which include Vince, Rebecca Taylor, David Meister, Sag Harbor, My Michelle and XOXO, along with numerous private label businesses for retailers. The Company operates in four segments: Vince, American Recreational Products (ARP), Juniors and Moderate. Vince, contemporary fashion apparel and accessories sold under the Vince brand name through wholesale distribution to department stores and specialty stores as well as direct-to-consumer through Vince’s retail stores and the www.vince.com Website. American Recreational Products (ARP), recreational apparel and products sold under Kelty, Sierra Designs, Ultimate Direction, Slumberjack, Wenzel and Isis brand names.

Address

6th Floor, 1441 Broadway
NEW YORK, NY 10018
United States 

Website 

www.vince.com

Key stats and ratios

	Q3 (Aug '13)	2013
Net profit margin	-4.39%	-14.92%
Operating margin	6.78%	2.85%
EBITD margin	-	3.77%
Return on average assets	-7.60%	-23.21%
Return on average equity	-	-
Employees	1,514

The Fresh Market (TFM) plummets after reporting earnings on 21 Nov 2013

According to The Wall Street Journal there are three secondary offerings on tap for next week, but no IPOs. The largest of these, Sprouts Farmers Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: SFM), was supposed to price on Thursday, but that was delayed until Monday likely due to the weak earnings report from The Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) earlier last week. Sprouts is planning to sell 25.9 million shares. Shares closed at $37.86 on Friday, which would indicate a capital raise of around $975 million.

Shares of specialty food retailer The Fresh Market (TFM) are sinking after the company’s third quarter results and full year guidance fell short of analysts’ consensus estimates.
Last night, The Fresh Market reported Q3 earnings per share of 23c and revenue of $364.5M. Analysts' expectations were for EPS of 26c and revenue of $378.57M. The company reported an increase in same store sales of 3.1%.

WHAT'S NOTABLE: The Fresh Market said it expects FY13 EPS of $1.42-$1.47, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53. It also forecast FY13 same store sales up 3%-3.5%.
ANALYST REACTION: This morning, research firm Sterne Agee downgraded The Fresh Market to Neutral from Buy following the company's Q3 miss and weak guidance. The firm cited increasing competition and growing pains outside the company’s core market.
PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, The Fresh Market fell more than 19% to $40.80 on more than eight times its average daily trading volume. Year to date, the stock is down almost 15%.

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Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NVGS) began trading on the NASDAQ on 21 November 2013

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipper, Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVGS) began trading on Thursday. The company sold 12 million shares at an IPO price of $19, the high end of its expected range of $17 to $19. The company also increase the number of shares on offer from 11.3 million. The shipping company raised about $156 million of which about $73 million will be used to pay for new ships and the rest is tabbed for general corporate purposes. Shares closed at $19.97 on Thursday and $20.06 on Friday.

500.com Ltd. (WBAI) began trading on the NYSE on 22 November 2013

The week’s biggest winner was 500.com Ltd. (NYSE: WBAI), another firm based in China, and this one is a service provider for online sports lotteries in the Middle Kingdom. The company priced about 5.8 million shares at $13, and the shares began trading at $20.68 and closed the day at $20.01.

500.com CEO Man San Law celebrates their IPO by ringing the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on November 22, 2013 in New York City.

Sungy Mobile Ltd. (GOMO) began trading on the NASDAQ on 22 November 2013

Sungy Mobile Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOMO) priced its IPO at $11.22, near the top of the $9.50-$11.50 range, and the stock opened for trading at $14.11. The China-based company offers a management tool for Android-based smartphones. Shares traded at a peak of around $16 before closing their first trading day at $13.35.

Description

Sungy Mobile Limited is a provider of mobile Internet products and services globally with a focus on applications and mobile platform development. The Company’s platform product, GO Launcher EX, manages apps, widgets and functions on Android smartphones and serves as users’ first entry point to their phones. The Company has developed a portfolio of GO series products, which include its launcher products and a range of other GO series apps and widgets that provide functionality, enhanced performance and personalization for Android smart phones. In addition to its GO series products and GO platform, it also offer 3G.cn, a mobile Internet portal, and mobile reading services, both of which provides the Company with a stable and growing user and paying customer base.

Address

16-17th Floor, Tower A, China Intern cnt 33 Zhong Shan 3 Road, Yue Xiu District
GUANGZHOU, GNG 510055
China

Website 

www.sungymobile.com

Midcoast Energy Partners (MEP) began trading on the NYSE on 7 November 2013

Midcoast Energy Partners (NYSE: MEP) is an Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP)-backed LP that went public on Nov. 7. The partnership is a pure-play US natural gas and NGL midstream business with a 39 percent controlling interest in Midcoast Operating, a limited partnership that owns a network of natural gas and NGL gathering and transportation systems, natural gas processing and treating facilities and NGL fractionation facilities primarily located in Texas and Oklahoma. Midcoast Operating also owns and operates natural gas, condensate and NGL logistics and marketing assets that support its gathering, processing and transportation business.

The business primarily consists of gathering unprocessed and untreated natural gas from wellhead locations and other receipt points, processing the natural gas to remove NGLs and impurities at processing and treating facilities and transporting the processed natural gas and NGLs to intrastate and interstate pipelines for transportation to customers and market outlets. The partnership also markets natural gas and NGLs to wholesale customers.

The IPO raised $333 million by offering 18.5 million shares at $18. This was below the expected range of $19 to $21. MEP’s partnership agreement provides for a minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3125 per unit for each whole quarter, or $1.25 per unit on an annualized basis. At the recent closing price of $17.83 this equates to an annual yield of 7.0 percent.

Arc Logistics Partners (ARCX) began trading on the NYSE on 6 November 2013

Arc Logistics Partners (NYSE: ARCX) opened for trading on Nov. 6. This midstream partnership was formed by Lightfoot Capital to own, operate, develop and acquire a diversified portfolio of complementary energy logistics assets. The partnership is engaged in the terminalling, storage, throughput and transloading of crude oil and petroleum products. It intends to grow the business through the optimization, organic development and acquisition of terminalling, storage, rail, pipeline and other energy logistics assets that generate stable cash flows.

The 6 million common unit IPO opened flat at $19. ARCX plans to pay a minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3875 per unit each quarter, or $1.55 on an annualized basis. At the recent closing price of $19.04, this translates into an annual yield of 8.1 percent.

Sprague Resources (SRLP) began trading on the NYSE on 25 October 2013

Sprague Resources is engaged in the purchase, storage, distribution and sale of refined petroleum products. The partnership also provides storage and handling services for a broad range of materials. Sprague is one of the largest independent wholesale distributors of refined products in the Northeast US, owning and/or operating a network of 15 terminals located throughout the Northeast. These have a combined storage capacity of 9.1 million barrels for refined products and other liquid materials, and 1.5 million square feet of materials handling capacity.

In the IPO, Sprague sold 8.5 million common units initially priced at $18, but the price has slipped since. The partnership forecasts a minimum quarterly distribution of $0.4125 per unit, or $1.65 per unit annually. As the most recent closing price of $17.60, that translates into a minimum annual yield of 9.4 percent.

Western Refining Logistics LP (WNRL) began trading on the NYSE on 10 October 2013

Description

Western Refining Logistics, LP owns, operates, develops, and acquires terminals, storage tanks, pipelines, and other logistics assets. As of December 31, 2012, the Company’s assets includes pipeline and gathering assets and terminalling, transportation, and storage assets in the Southwestern portion of the United States, which included approximately 300 miles of pipelines and approximately 7.9 million barrels of active storage capacity, as well as other assets. The Company's assets are integral to the operations of Western’s refineries located in El Paso, Texas, and near Gallup, New Mexico .As of December 31, 2012, the Company owns and operates two refineries, in El Paso, Texas and Gallup, New Mexico, with a total crude oil throughput capacity of 153,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Company does not take ownership of the hydrocarbons or products (other than certain additives) that it handles or engages in the trading of any commodities.

Address

SUITE 101, 123 W. Mills Avenue
EL PASO, TX 79901
United States

Website: 

www.wnrl.com

Key stats and ratios

	Q2 (Jun '13)	2012
Net profit margin	-1634.87%	-1846.35%
Operating margin	-1635.18%	-1846.66%
EBITD margin	-	-1535.73%
Return on average assets	-53.30%	-55.52%
Return on average equity	-54.42%	-57.32%

Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (NASDAQ: OXFD) began trading on the NASDAQ on 22 November 2013

U.K.-based Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (NASDAQ: OXFD) offered 5.4 million shares at $12, below the expected range of $13 to $15 a share on Friday. The company is a commercial-stage diagnostic test firm. Shares began trading at $14 and closed the day at $15.88.

Oxford Immunotec Global PLC is a global, commercial-stage diagnostics company. The Company’s T-SPOT technology platform allows the Company to measure the responses of specific immune cells, known as T cells, to inform the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of patients with immunologically controlled diseases. T cells are a central component of the human body’s immune system, and are implicated in the control and progression of many medical conditions, including certain types of infectious diseases, cancers and autoimmune diseases. The initial product it has developed using its T-SPOT technology platform is its T-SPOT.TB test, which is used to test for latent Tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI).

Address

94C Innovation Drive, Milton Park
ABINGDON, OX14 4RZ
United Kingdom 

Website links 

www.oxfordimmunotec.com

Voxeljet (VJET) plunges on bearish report

Citron Research has issued a short bearish report on Voxeljet AG (ADR)(NYSE:VJET) in which the 3D printer vendor is called “a total [expletive] joke.” The firm notes Voxeljet sold only three printers in Q3, and that the deals were enabled by loans and other incentives.

Citron also points out insiders sold 1.875M shares through last month’s IPO, and netted just $12.09/share (~75% below Voxeljet’s current price).The firm’s conclusion: “VJET is the winner in Wall Street’s race to the bottom. It’s not even a company, it’s just a hobby.”Though Voxeljet is the biggest decliner, other 3D printing plays are staring at big losses for the second straight day: DDD -6.4%. SSYS -4.3%. XONE -7.6%. PRLB -6.2%. Valuations might be weighing on the minds of some investors: 3D Systems and Stratasys still respectively trade at 56x and 47x 2014E EPS.

The Next Wave of Tech IPOs

Potentially hot IPOs include trendy services such as AirBnB, Square, Spotify, Dropbox, Uber, Snapchat, Pinterest, Box, Scribd, Flipboard and King.com. Most of their services are tailor made for smartphones and tablets, a crucial characteristic that helped feed the rabid demand for Twitter's stock in its successful initial public offering.

Even before Twitter's IPO, good vibes were rippling through the stock market as the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes repeatedly set new highs. The fertile conditions have produced 199 IPOs in the U.S. this year, according to the research firm Renaissance Capital. At the current pace, 2013 is on track to be the biggest year for IPOs in a decade.

Sentiment among venture capitalists is also strong _ the highest since 2007 according to a survey by Mark Cannice, a University of San Francisco professor of entrepreneurship who polls Silicon Valley financiers every three months.

The companies generating the most interest from venture capitalists include Uber, the provider of on-demand car services that received $258 million so far this year and Pinterest, which nabbed $425 million. Pinterest's latest round of financing, for $225 million, valued the popular online pinboard service at nearly $4 billion. The San Francisco company just recently began trying to generate revenue, which means it could be several years before it becomes profitable. Snapchat, meanwhile, recently turned down a $3 billion buyout offer from Facebook, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing anonymous people briefed on the matter. The report also said China's Tencent Holdings had offered to invest in the company at a $4 billion valuation.

A string of IPOs that began with the May 2011 debut of professional network LinkedIn Corp. helped fuel investors' interest in rapidly growing Internet companies. Other online services with large audiences followed LinkedIn into the public stock market, including online review site Yelp Inc., Internet radio station Pandora Media Inc., daily deal maker Groupon Inc., online game maker Zynga Inc. and social networking Relevant Products/Services leader Facebook Inc.

Groupon and Zynga have been duds so far, largely because they didn't adjust quickly enough to shifting conditions in their respective markets, but all the others are trading above their IPO prices. LinkedIn and Yelp have more than quadrupled from their IPO prices, making the stocks star performers among the group.

Facebook's May 2012 IPO spooked many investors because of trading glitches and questions about the company's ability to grow mobile Relevant Products/Services revenue. But the company has since soothed critics by proving it can make money from mobile advertisements. The stock is now trading well above its $38 IPO price after losing more than half of its value in the first four months of trading.

The next batch of startups expected to test their fate on the public market doesn't include names as well known as Twitter or Facebook, so splashy IPOs of either's caliber are unlikely. Twitter's $1.82 billion market debut made it the second largest Internet IPO in the world, relegating Google Inc.'s stock market debut in 2004 to third place.

Zulily (ZU) began trading on the NYSE on 15 November 2013

Seattle-based Zulily's offering sold 11.5 million shares at $22 each, raising $253 million in total, with $140 million going to the coffers of the e-commerce company.

"The business has been profitable; we've been cash-flow positive for the past few years, says CEO and founder Darrell Cavens. "That's one of the pieces of the story that's different than what's out there. We've got growth paired with the bottom line."

Zulily has seen its revenue soar. For 2012, it reported $331 million in revenue, up 132% from a year ago. For the first nine months of 2013, it reported $438.7 million in revenue. Zulily is getting 45% of its orders from mobile.

Zulily's homepage

The e-commerce site refreshes its offers daily with promotions on curated items it says can run 50% below retail. The company has a merchandising team of 300 employees charged with finding new products at discount.

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has made no secret of ambitions for becoming an everything store, entering just about every market. The company's approach of delivering products aimed at kids is no different. The e-commerce giant acquired Diapers.com for $545 million in 2010, a deal that came after its $1.2 billion purchase of Internet shoe retailer Zappos.com.

"I think our model is really different. We're out there finding boutique products and putting them out there," says Cavens.

The company's customer base has been swelling. As of September 2013, it counted 2.6 million active customers, up from 1.6 million active customers in 2012 and 791,000 in the year before. The site was launched in January 2010.

Shares of Zulily trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "Zu."

58.com (WUBA): 1-month performance

Zulily (ZU) prices IPO above range

Seattle’s Zulily Inc. has priced its initial public offering at $22 per share, above the expected range of $18 to $20. 

The e-commerce startup, which markets itself as a daily deal site for mothers, is raising $253 million in its IPO. Zulily is listing on the Nasdaq, under the ticker “ZU.”

Zulily posted a profit of $155,000 on $438.7 million in revenue, during the first nine months of the year. This compares to a loss of $13.6 million in the same period last year, with $202.8 million in revenue. Zulily operated at a loss in 2010 and 2011.

Zulily’s offering is part of a wave of Internet IPOs. Twitter went public last week and textbook rental site, Chegg, completed its IPO on Wednesday. Twitter saw its shares surge 73% on the first day of trading, whereas Chegg fell 23%.

Despite a niche focus, Zulily draws similarities to Groupon GRPN +0.21%, which had a difficult first two years of trading. Yet coupon site, RetailMeNot, has seen its share price go up 55% since its July debut. Flash sale site, Gilt Groupe, is said to have an IPO on the horizon.

Zulily’s largest stockholders are Chairman Mark Vadon, Maveron Capital and CEO Darrell Cavens. Other investors include August Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Trinity Ventures. Zulily has raised a total of $139 million in venture capital.

Goldman Sachs is the lead manager on the deal. BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup C +0.66% and RBC Capital Markets are also bookrunners. Goldman Sachs led Twitter in its IPO last week, which also priced above the expected range.

JGWPT Holdings (JGW) began trading on the NYSE on 8 November 2013

Pennsylvania-based JGWPT Holdings Inc. opened the market today to celebrate the company’s IPO which took place on November 8th. To mark the occasion CEO, David Miller, rang the Opening Bell. JGWPT Holdings Inc. provides funding solutions to customers in the United States and is listed under the ticker symbol “JGW”.

Chairman and CEO David Miller of JGWPT Holdings Inc. rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on November 14, 2013 in New York City.

Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI), Inc. Announces Pricing of Upsized Public Offering of Common Stock

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. (“Fiesta” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:FRGI), the owner, operator, and franchisor of the Pollo Tropical® and Taco Cabana® fast-casual restaurant brands, today announced the pricing of a public offering of 2,700,000 shares of common stock at a price of $46.00 per share (the “Public Offering”). All of the shares were offered by Fiesta. The Public Offering was upsized from the previously announced offering size of up to $100,000,000 of common stock. The underwriters have also been granted a 30 day option by Fiesta and certain executive officers of the Company, as selling stockholders, to purchase up to an additional 405,000 shares of common stock offered in the Public Offering, of which 26,664 shares of common stock are currently issued and outstanding and are held by such executive officers. The Company will not receive any of the net proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock, if any, by the selling stockholders. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on November 20, 2013, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Public Offering and revolving credit borrowings under a proposed new senior secured revolving credit facility, which the Company anticipates entering into following the closing of the Public Offering, to (i) repurchase all of its outstanding 8.875% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016 (the "Notes") tendered pursuant to a tender offer commenced on November 12, 2013 and to be completed after the Public Offering (or through a redemption of the notes not tendered in the tender offer), (ii) repay any outstanding borrowings under its existing credit facility, if any, (iii) pay related fees and expenses of the Public Offering and the transactions above and (iv) for general corporate purposes. The consummation of the Public Offering is not subject to or conditioned upon the consummation by the Company of the tender offer or the Company entering into the new senior secured revolving credit facility. In the event that the Company is unable to enter into the new senior secured revolving credit facility and subsequently repurchase the outstanding Notes pursuant to the tender offer, the Company intends to use the net proceeds of this offering in accordance with the terms of the indenture governing the Notes to repurchase a portion of the principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the date of redemption.

Jefferies LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. are serving as joint book-running managers for the Public Offering. Stephens Inc. is serving as co-manager for the Public Offering.

About Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc.

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. owns, operates and franchises the Pollo Tropical® and Taco Cabana® restaurant brands with 310 restaurants in the U.S and internationally as of September 29, 2013. The brands specialize in the operation of fast-casual, ethnic restaurants that offer distinct and unique flavors with broad appeal at a compelling value. Both brands feature made-from-scratch cooking, fresh salsa bars, and drive-thru service and catering. For more information about Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., visit the corporate website at www.frgi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained in this news release, the matters addressed are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, written, oral or otherwise made, represent Fiesta's expectation or belief concerning future events. Without limiting the foregoing, these statements are often identified by the words “may,” “might,” “believes,” “thinks,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects”, “intends” or similar expressions. In addition, expressions of Fiesta's strategies, intentions or plans, are also forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect management's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond Fiesta's control. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties as included in Fiesta's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Potbelly (PBPB) shares surge on strong earnings

Shares of Potbelly (PBPB) jumped 12% higher Wednesday after the sandwich chain's adjusted profit beat Wall Street expectations in its first earnings since its initial public offering last month. Excluding one-time costs, the firm earned 15 cents per share, up from 12 cents in the same period a year ago, and above the estimates of 9 cents from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

 ticker: PBPB

DETAILS: The Chicago-based restaurant chain went public in October and received proceeds of $108.8 million from the offering, which it used to fund a special dividend and pay down debt. It plans to use the remaining proceeds for general corporate purposes.

Potbelly said that it benefited from strong sales. Its quarterly revenue from company-owned stores open at least a year increased 2.5 percent, which is considered a key indicator of financial performance as it strips away the impact of recently opened and closed sites.

NUMBERS: Potbelly reported net income attributable to the company of $2.2 million versus $2.5 million last year. After making its special dividend to stockholders tied to its IPO and other special items, the company posted a third-quarter loss attributable to shareholders of $52.5 million, or $12.29 per share. That's compared with a loss of $3 million, or 75 cents per share, last year.

The company earned 15 cents per share versus 12 cents per share after adjusting for all one-time costs tied to the offering.

Potbelly's total revenue increased 12 percent to $78 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet were anticipating earnings of 9 cents per share on revenue of $77.9 million.

FUTURE: Potbelly said that it expects adjusted income between $7.5 million and $8.1 million for the full fiscal year on revenue between $300 and $303 million. The company did not provide per-share guidance. Analysts had forecast revenue of $301.6 million for the year.

It also said that it expects 40 to 42 new store openings for the year. At quarter-end Potbelly operated 288 locations, while franchisees operated another 19 restaurants.

Chegg (CHGG) began trading on the NYSE on 13 November 2013

Chegg (CHGG) slumped on its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, dropping below its initial public offering price of $12.50. The online textbook vendor offered 15 million shares in its IPO.

Chegg, an online hub offering students a range of tools and resources to succeed in college, visited NYSE to celebrate the company’s completion of its IPO and first day of trading under the ticker symbol “CHGG.” To highlight this important company milestone, President and CEO Dan Rosensweig, joined by members of Chegg’s leadership team, rang the NYSE Opening Bell.

President and CEO Dan Rosensweig of Chegg ring the opening bell to celebrate their IPO at the New York Stock Exchange on November 13, 2013 in New York City.

Description

Chegg, Inc. (Chegg) is the student-first connected learning platform, empowering students to take control of their education to save time, save money and get smarter. The Company has approximately 180,000 titles in its print textbook library available for rent. The Company also offers more than 100,000 eTextbook titles. The Company also offers free services to students, such as helping high school students find colleges and scholarship opportunities and helping college students decide which courses to take and find supplemental materials. These and other free services it offers are designed to round out the Student Hub as a one-stop destination for critical student needs. The Company’s solutions include The Student Hub and The Student Graph.

Address

3990 Freedom Circle
SANTA CLARA, CA 95054
United States

Website 

http://www.chegg.com

Key stats and ratios

	Q3 (Sep '13)	2012
Net profit margin	-47.50%	-22.99%
Operating margin	-40.44%	-21.21%
EBITD margin	-	7.56%
Return on average assets	-56.23%	-24.98%
Return on average equity	-	-
Employees	605

2013 IPOs : best & worst

Update: Prosensa Holding (RNA) was acquired by BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) for $840 million. (November 2014)

• Best: Container Store, Potbelly, Noodles & Co., Sprouts Farmers Markets
• Worst: Prosensa Holding (RNA), LipoScience (LPDX)

Potbelly. Noodles & Co. Sprouts Farmers Markets. These are all the huge winning initial public offerings this year. These are the deals most people like to talk about because they've all more than doubled from their IPO prices.

But investors will have a tougher time finding others bragging about buying into IPOs that didn't fare so well this year. And there have been plenty of dogs in what's been a pretty solid year for IPOs.

All three of the worst performing IPOs in 2013 so far have been health care deals, says IPOScoop.com. Prosensa Holding (RNA), a biotech company working on treatments for diseases including muscular dystrophy, is down more than 66% from the $13 a share offering price. The company disappointed investors in September when saying one of its top drugs in development didn't make it to late-stage clinical trials.

Following Propensa is LipoScience (LPDX), a maker of diagnostics to test patients, which has seen its shares fall 48% from its IPO price of $9 a share. The company told investors in August that demand for its diagnostics test wasn't growing as fast as its costs were. The company lost $2.4 million in the quarter ended in June. And behind LipoScience as the worst IPO of the year is KaloBios (KBIO), down 48% from its $8 a share IPO price.

These big disappointments in the IPO market are a reminder to investors that making money on unproven stocks isn't as easy as it might seem. Even though the IPO market is raging, and most IPOs are doing well, there are still the laggards.

First-day pops: The Container Store, a retailer that sells organizational materials such as shelves and storage boxes, saw its shares more than double in value on the first day of trading after the initial public offering last week. The shares rose from its $18 a share to $36.20 a share. Container Store was the fifth U.S.- listed IPO to double in its first day of trading this year.

It is the biggest year for 100 per cent one-day jumps since 2000. In 2012, just one IPO, a company named plunk, doubled on its first day, said Jay Ritter, professor of finance at the University of Florida. No IPOs doubled on their first day in 2009, 2008 or 2007, Ritter said. IPOs on average have gained 16 per cent on their first day this year, Renaissance said, the highest in at least a decade.

Strong deal pricing. Demand has been so strong for new share issues that underwriters aren’t cutting the price to stoke demand. So far this year, just 28 per cent of IPOs have been priced below their initial expected price range, showing a sign of strength not seen since 2009, analyst Renaissance Capital said.

Busy calendar of deals. Already this year, 182 companies have seen their shares start trading, up 50 per cent from this point last year, said Renaissance. At the current pace, there could be 220 IPOs in 2013, making it the busiest year for IPOs since 2000 by topping the 217 deals in 2004, Renaissance said.

Extended Stay America (STAY) began trading on the NYSE on 13 Nov 2013

• Long-stay hotel chain Extended Stay America rises 16% as company goes public. 
• Company is headed by ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald 
• Average stay of guest is 26 days

The hotel chain, which specializes in mid-priced hotel rooms that mimic apartments and are rented by the week or month, priced its IPO at $20 per share, near the top of the range of $18 to $21. The shares rallied as high as $23.90 in early trading and were up $3.20 to $23.20 at midday.

The company, which is headed by ex-Starbucks CEO Jim Donald, raised roughly $565 million with the sale of 28.25 million shares.

IPOs have been hot lately, witnessed by the 70%-plus first-day return of micro-blogging site Twitter last week.

The hotel chain, which operates about 700 hotels, was bought out of bankruptcy three years ago by investment firms Blackstone Group, Centerbridge Partners and Paulson & Co. Extended Stay sold about 14% of the company, giving the company a market value of roughly $4 billion.

Guests stay an average 26 days at the hotel. And the average nightly rate for extended-stay hotels was $54.77 last year, compared to $119.88 for upper-level long-stay companies, according to Bloomberg News, citing data from STR Analytics.

In an interview with cable business channel CNBC this morning, CEO Donald said the proceeds of the IPO will be used to pay off debt and that no new hotels were currently in the pipeline. He wouldn't rule out a moderate room price increase in the future.

He said the company's $626 million renovation program, which he dubbed the "Platinum Renovation" would be 50% complete by the end of the first quarter of 2014.

ExOne (XONE) - 9-month performance

Potbelly (PBPB): 1-month performance

  ticker: PBPB

YuMe (YUME) : 3-month performance