TheStreet.com to Debut on Nasdaq
A big test of Wall Street’s appetite for Internet stocks looms today, with the trading debut of online financial news company TheStreet.com.
The firm raised $104.5 million in its initial stock sale Monday, pricing 5.5 million shares at $19 each, the top of the $17-to-$19 range set by underwriter Goldman, Sachs & Co. The stock will begin trading today under the symbol TSCM on Nasdaq.
The New York-based firm, whose backers include New York Times Co. and News Corp., sold a 23% stake to the public, giving the company a market value of $448 million. Goldman raised the price range from $11-to-$13 early Monday.
“I think it’s going to be received very well,” said Joel Krasner, an analyst with First Albany Corp. “Demand for securities and financial information is one of the most popular areas on the Internet.”
Though the company isn’t profitable, it is growing fast and says it hopes to attract more online investors as subscribers.
TheStreet.com said it had 51,000 subscribers at the end of March, up 59% from the end of the year. It added about 5,500 customers last year by offering subscriptions in exchange for frequent-flier miles.
The 3-year-old company has about 50 journalists who produce about 40 stories each business day for its Web site, https://www.thestreet.com. One of its best-known writers is hedge fund manager James Cramer, 44, a co-founder of the company who has a stake worth $64.5 million following the sale.
Online competitors to TheStreet.com include MarketWatch.com Inc., whose price rose more than fivefold after its public sale raised $46.8 million in January.
TheStreet.com lost $16.4 million on revenue of $4.6 million last year. About $2.5 million of 1998 revenue came from ads, $1.7 million from subscriptions.
