Just like opening day at the ballpark, investing in new IPOs holds the potential for shining promise and crushing disappointment. If you simply can't bear to just cheer on your favorites from the sidelines, at least be careful about investing in this league. Many new issues swing for the fences during their first trading days, only to slump once marketing hype has given way to mundane earnings reports.

Don't commit an error by stocking your entire portfolio with rookies. Allocate just a small percentage of your risk capital to IPOs. Scout your potential phenoms carefully, and be choosy about composing your own rotisserie league. Investing with an eye for a season extending long beyond opening day will reward you with quality players capable of staying in the game. With that in mind, we offer our Foolish scouting report of the latest IPOs.

Last week's games

  • Winner: Orexigen
    • Ticker: Nasdaq: OREX
    • Industry: Biotech
    • Deal terms: 7 million shares, $12 per share
    • Lead managers: Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan
    • Filed: Dec. 19
    • Opening day: April 26, opened at $12.50, closed at $13, 4% gain
    • Bleacher banter: Priced at midpoint of its proposed range

  • Edenor
    • Ticker: NYSE: EDN
    • Industry: Argentine electricity distributor
    • Deal terms: 15.2 million shares, $17 per share
    • Lead managers: Citigroup and JP Morgan
    • Filed: April 5
    • Opening day: April 26, opened at $17.50, closed at $17.65, 3.8% gain
    • Bleacher banter: Priced at midpoint of its proposed range

  • OceanFreight
    • Ticker: Nasdaq: OCNF
    • Industry: Greek development-stage fleet operator
    • Deal terms: 10.8 million American depositary shares, $19 per share
    • Lead managers: Banc of America and Cantor Fitzgerald
    • Filed: April 9
    • Opening day: April 25, opened flat, closed at $19.31, 1.6% gain
    • Bleacher banter: Priced at low end of its proposed range

  • Pharmasset
    • Ticker: Nasdaq: VRUS
    • Industry: Pharmaceutical
    • Deal terms: 5 million shares, $9 per share
    • Lead managers: Banc of America and UBS
    • Filed: May 8
    • Opening day: April 27, opened flat, closed at $9.07, 0.8% gain
    • Bleacher banter: Priced at low end of revised lower range; sold 1 million fewer shares than originally planned

  • Cinemark Holdings
    • Ticker: NYSE: CNK
    • Industry: Movie theater operator
    • Deal terms: 28 million shares, $19 per share
    • Lead managers: Lehman, Credit Suisse, and Merrill Lynch
    • Filed: Feb. 1
    • Opening day: April 24, opened at $19, closed at $18.91, 0.5% loss
    • Bleacher banter: Priced at high end of its proposed range

  • Loser: Ocean Power Technologies
    • Ticker: Nasdaq: OPTT
    • Industry: Alternative-energy company
    • Deal terms: 5 million shares, $20 per share
    • Lead managers: UBS, Banc of America, and Bear Stearns
    • Filed: Nov. 13
    • Opening day: April 25, opened flat, closed at $17.84, 10.8% loss
    • Bleacher banter: Priced at low end of its proposed range

On deck

  • Acorn International
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: ATV
    • Industry: Chinese marketing firm
    • Proposed deal terms: 7.7 million American depositary shares, $12.50-$14.50 per share
    • Lead managers: Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank
    • Filed: April 5

  • AMC Entertainment
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: AC
    • Industry: Movie theater operator
    • Proposed deal terms: 39.5 million shares, $18-$20 per share
    • Lead managers: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank
    • Filed: Dec. 11

  • CardioMems
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: SENS
    • Industry: Biotech
    • Proposed deal terms: 6 million shares, $12-$14 per share
    • Lead manager: Banc of America
    • Filed: Jan. 19

  • Cavium Networks
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: CAVM
    • Industry: Semiconductor provider
    • Proposed deal terms: 6.3 million shares, $10-$12 per share
    • Lead managers: Morgan Stanley and Lehman
    • Filed: Feb. 13

  • EndoCeutics
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: ENCX
    • Industry: Canadian biopharma
    • Proposed deal terms: 5.8 million shares, $11-$13 per share
    • Lead manager: First Albany
    • Filed: Feb. 27

  • Interactive Brokers
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: IBKR
    • Industry: Electronic broker
    • Proposed deal terms: 20 million shares, $23-$27 per share
    • Lead managers: W.R. Hambrecht and HSBC
    • Filed: Nov. 27

  • NeurogesX
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: NGSX
    • Industry: Biopharmaceutical
    • Proposed deal terms: 4 million shares, $13-$15 per share
    • Lead manager: Morgan Stanley
    • Filed: Feb. 7

  • Qiao Xing Mobile Communication
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: QXM
    • Industry: Chinese mobile handset manufacturer
    • Proposed deal terms: 16.7 million American depositary shares, $11-$13 per share
    • Lead manager: UBS
    • Filed: April 17

Game of the week
Last week's IPO market didn't prove too exciting. Let's see if a Chinese mobile handset manufacturer can ring up some interest.

Qiao Xing Mobile, a British Virgin Islands company, is the leading manufacturer of mobile handsets in terms of volume in China. Incorporated in 2002, the company in 2006 became a wholly owned subsidiary of Qiao Xing Universal Telephone (NASDAQ:XING), which now holds approximately 80.5% of the shares. Of the remaining shares, approximately 17.5% are held by DKR Soundshore Oasis Holding Fund Ltd., and 2.0% are held by CEDAR DKR Holding Fund Ltd. It's anticipated that Xing will own 56.6% of the company's outstanding shares following the offering. 

Business is conducted through CECT, Qiao Xing's operating subsidiary in China. The company owns a 93.4% equity stake in CECT, with the remaining interest held by Qiao Xing Group Limited, a private company controlled by the firm's chairman and vice chairman.

The company's handsets are based on global cellular technologies and are focused on higher-end and differentiated products that can generate higher profit margins. The company sold approximately 2.26 million handsets in 2006 with an average selling price of $140. The company posted pro forma revenues of RMB 2.54 billion ($325.1 million) and net income of RMB 286.7 billion ($36.7 million) for the year ended Dec. 31, compared to revenues of RMB 1.86 billion and net income of RMB 230.6 million for the same period a year before.

Within the competitive and fragmented Chinese mobile handset market, the company believes its strong in-house research and development capabilities, together with an extensive nationwide distribution system, give it a competitive edge. The Chinese mobile handset market continues to grow, with the number of wireless telecom subscribers growing from 393 million to 461 million from the end of 2005 to the end of 2006.

Shares are expected to begin trading Thursday. As always, make sure you do your own warm-ups and read through a company's offering documents, including the risk factors, before getting in on the game!  

Warming up in the bullpen

  • Aecom Technology, an architectural and engineering firm, announced deal terms of 35.2 million shares at $18-$20 per share. The lead managers are Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and UBS.

  • Biodel, a pharmaceutical, announced deal terms of 5 million shares at $14-$16 per share. The lead managers are Morgan Stanley and Banc of America.

  • Biofuel Energy, an ethanol producer, announced deal terms of 9.5 million shares at $16-$18 per share. The lead managers are JP Morgan, Citigroup, and A.E. Edwards.

  • CAI International, a container leasing company, announced deal terms of 5.8 million shares at $14-$16 per share. The lead manager is Piper Jaffray.

  • Insulet, an insulin infusion system developer, announced deal terms of 6.7 million shares at $14-$16 per share. The lead managers are JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch.

  • Pinnacle Gas Resources, a natural-gas exploration company, announced deal terms of 3.75 million shares at $10-$12 per share. The lead manager is Friedman Billings.

  • Tech Target, an information technology website operator, announced deal terms of 7.7 million shares at $12-$14 per share. The lead managers are Morgan Stanley and Lehman.

Sent down to the minors
No planned offerings scheduled for last week were postponed.

Minor-league developments
Get ready, get set ... not yet! The latest filings announced during the last week include:

  • China Sunergy
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: CSUN
    • Industry: Solar cell manufacturer
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead manager: Merrill Lynch
    • Filed: April 26

  • Concho Resources
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: CXO
    • Industry: Oil and gas
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead managers: JP Morgan and Banc of America
    • Filed: April 24

  • Dolan Media
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: DM
    • Industry: Business services
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead managers: Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch
    • Filed: April 26

  • GT Solar
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: SOLR
    • Industry: Solar energy equipment provider
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead managers: Credit Suisse and UBS
    • Filed: April 26

  • Lumber Liquidators
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: LL
    • Industry: Flooring retailer
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead managers: Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch
    • Filed: April 23

  • Rex Energy
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: REXX
    • Industry: Oil and gas company
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead manager: KeyBanc Capital
    • Filed: April 27

  • Triple-S Management
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: GTS
    • Industry: Puerto Rican managed health-care company
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead managers: Credit Suisse and UBS
    • Filed: April 27

  • Tully's Coffee
    • Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: TULY
    • Industry: Specialty coffee retailer
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead manager: KeyBanc Capital
    • Filed: April 2

  • Vanguard Natural Resources
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: VNR
    • Industry: Oil and gas company
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead manager: Citigroup
    • Filed: April 26

  • VMware
    • Proposed ticker: NYSE: VMW
    • Industry: Virtualization services provider
    • Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
    • Lead managers: Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Lehman
    • Filed: April 26

Disabled list
 Bidz.com, an online jewelry retailer, withdrew its planned offering last week, citing its inability to obtain lock-up agreements from its shareholders.

Champions
Meet our current champs. Among companies that went public during the past 12 months, these firms' percentage returns from their offer prices to their most recent closing prices rank them as the top five players:

Company

Return

Description

IPO Date

Trina Solar  (NYSE:TSL)

243.2%

Chinese solar module provider

12/18/06

Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ:RVBD)

238.0%

Tech

9/20/06

New Oriental Education (NYSE:EDU)

219.3%

Chinese educational services

4/20/06

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)

218.2%

Solar module provider

11/16/06

MasterCard (NYSE:MA)

192.6%

Credit card services

5/24/06

Benchwarmers
Now meet our current benchwarmers -- that's nicer to say than "losers," isn't it?  Among companies that went public during the past 12 months, these firms' percentage returns from their offer prices to their most recent closing prices rank them as the bottom five players:

Company

Return

Description

IPO Date

Vonage Holdings (NYSE:VG)

(81.7%)

Telecom

5/24/06

Restore Medical (NASDAQ:REST)

(70.5%)

Medical device maker

5/16/06

Alphatec Holdings (NASDAQ:ATEC)

(59.9%)

Medical device maker

6/1/06

Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE:AVR)

(55.1%)

Ethanol producer

6/28/06

Luna Innovations (NASDAQ:LUNA)

(50.3%)

Tech

6/1/06

Groupies and fan clubs
If you don't want to declare your loyalties for specific players, but still want to enjoy the action, consider subscribing to an IPO-focused mutual fund or exchange-traded fund. Of course, do your scouting homework here, too, and make sure you read their prospectuses before buying season tickets.

Blue chips rallied last week, while the broader market as well as our seasoned IPO players turned in a mixed performance. Both the Nasdaq and the IPO Plus Aftermarket (IPOSX), a mutual fund, rose 1.2%, while the Russell 2000 gained 0.1%, and the First Trust IPOX 100 (AMEX:FPX), an ETF, slipped 0.4%.

Keep reading the Fool to see how your favorite players perform as they mature!

We're publicly offering further Foolishness:

Sources: Renaissance Capital's IPOhome.com, SEC filings, Reuters.

New Oriental Education is a Global Gains recommendation. MasterCard is an Inside Value selection. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are Income Investor picks.

Fool contributor S.J. Caplan roots for the Cleveland Indians when her husband is watching, and for the Boston Red Sox when he leaves the room. She holds no financial position in any firms or funds mentioned here. The Fool has a disclosure policy.