6 Companies That Dared to Go Public This Month

There aren't any companies set to go public this week, so we can close the book on November debutantes.

It wasn't very busy: A mere six companies successfully completed their IPOs this month.

December promises to be even quieter. There are no companies set to go public in the next couple of weeks, according to this morning's Wall Street Journal. And it may well stay that way. It's not as if December is seasonally quiet. Dealogic reports that since 1993 there has only been one year with a barren December on the IPO front. That was 2008, and anyone who remembers the market meltdown taking place at that time during the banking crisis can imagine why a company didn't want to risk going public at a time when investors were heading to the hills.

It's a kinder climate now, but the uncertainty is ripe. With little indication of how or whether the fiscal cliff will be resolved, a prospective new offering may face an unreceptive market -- if it's able to pull off a deal at all.

At least nearly all of this month's IPOs have been rewarding.

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

YY is a popular Chinese social-media company. After Internet companies from the world's largest nation fell out of favor last year, many Chinese dot-coms have bounced back this year. The move set the stage for YY's debut.

Alon USA Partners is the other company to go public last week. It's a master limited partnership formed by oil refiner Alon USA Energy (NYSE: ALJ). Income investors have been flocking to energy-based limited partnerships for a shot at juicy yields.

Ruckus is the lone loser. The provider of wireless systems for the mobile Internetworking market saw its shares priced at the high end of its initial $13 to $15 pricing range, but retail investors apparently feel that its value rests more on the low end of that range.

The three other companies all went public on Nov. 2. Delek Logistics is another energy-oriented master limited partnership. Restoration Hardware -- this month's biggest winner -- is the retailer of upscale home furnishings that is back after being gobbled up by a private equity firm in 2008. Southcross Energy owns natural gas-pipelines, though the buzz behind its debut is likely tied to its role in the booming liquefied-natural-gas market.

For now, the scorecard is waxing kindly on November's incoming class. Ruckus is the only company trading below its IPO price, and half of the names have already gone on to post double-digit gains for the investors who got in on the IPO.

There will be a few dry weeks, but it's not as if investors are spitting out the new issues.

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