Scouting the Latest IPOs

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
Several games took place last week, ranked below according to how the players performed.

Winner: WNS (Holdings) Limited

• Ticker: NYSE: WNS
• Industry: Offshore Indian-based business process outsourcing
• Deal terms: $20 per share, at the high end of its range; 11.2 million American depositary shares
• Lead managers: Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch
• Opening day: July 26; opened at $21.10 and closed at $24.50; a 22.5% gain
• Bleacher banter: This IPO now takes first place as the best performance in the new offering market this month.

Runner-up: GeoMet

• Ticker: Nasdaq: GMET
• Industry: Natural gas producer
• Deal terms: $10 per share, below its expected range; 5 million shares
• Lead manager: Banc of America
• Opening day: July 28; opened at $10.75 and closed at $10.97; 9.7% gain
• Bleacher banter: Weak demand prompted the offering to be lowered from 6 million shares.

Runner-up: Chart Industries

• Ticker: Nasdaq: GTLS
• Industry: Oil and gas equipment manufacturer
• Deal terms: $15 per share, below its expected range; 12.5 million shares
• Lead managers: Morgan Stanley, Lehman, UBS
• Opening day: July 26; opened flat and closed at $15.20; 1.3% gain
• Bleacher banter: Most of the proceeds will be used to pay a special dividend to private equity owners and management instead of paying down debt or expanding its operations

Loser: Crystal River Capital

• Ticker: NYSE: CRZ
• Industry: Real estate investment trust
• Deal terms: $23 per share, below its expected range; 7.5 million shares
• Lead manager: Deutsche Bank
• Opening day: July 28; opened at $22.65 and closed at $22.46; 2.3% loss
• Bleacher banter: Weak demand prompted the offering to be lowered from 9.1 million shares.

On deck
Several major IPOs are slated for the coming week:

Asset Capital Corporation

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: ACCI
• Industry: Commercial real estate
• Proposed deal terms: $9-$10 per share; 9.3 million shares
• Lead manager: Bear Stearns

Buckeye GP Holdings

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: BGH
• Industry: Oil and gas transporter
• Proposed deal terms: $19-$21 per share; 14.1 million shares
• Lead managers: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup

Osiris Therapeutics

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: OSIR
• Industry: Stem cell biotech
• Proposed deal terms: $11-$13 per share; 3.5 million shares
• Lead manager: Jefferies & Company

Security Capital Assurance

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: SCA
• Industry: Financial guaranty and reinsurance
• Proposed deal terms: $21-$23 per share; 22.4 million shares
• Lead manager: Goldman Sachs

Game of the week
No blow-out games are expected this week, but Buckeye bears watching for long-term potential.

The Pennsylvania-based company receives revenues from one of this country's largest independent pipelines. With a total storage capacity of 17.6 million barrels, Buckeye transports everything from gasoline, diesel, heating oil, and propane to refinery feedstocks. While some may worry that the market is becoming saturated with oil and gas company offerings, Buckeye represents an infrastructure play in this field that just may provide a steady drip of earnings growth rather than a gush of hot money.

Warming up in the bullpen
Unless otherwise noted, the timing of the following deals has not yet been determined.

Aircastle Limited, a commercial jet lessor, announced the terms of its proposed offering were a price range of $21-$23 per share for 9.1 million shares. The lead managers are JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, and Citigroup.

GNC, a nutritional supplements retailer, announced the terms of its proposed offering were a price range of $16-$18 per share for 23.5 million shares. The lead managers are Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and UBS.

InnerWorkings, a print solutions provider, announced the terms of its proposed offering were a price range of $8-$9 per share for 10.6 million shares. The lead manager is Morgan Stanley.

Sent down to the minors
There was no news last week of any postponed debuts, although two companies cancelled their plans entirely, as noted on the Disabled List.

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

Affymax

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: AFFY
• Industry: Biotech
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead managers: Morgan Stanley, Cowen & Co., Thomas Wiesel, and RBC Capital Markets
• Filed: July 28

Asthmatx

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: AZMA
• Industry: Pharmaceuticals
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead managers: Piper Jaffray and Bear Stearns
• Filed: July 24

Atlas Energy Resources

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: ATL
• Industry: Natural gas and oil producer
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead manager: UBS
• Filed: July 28

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: CPRX
• Industry: Pharmaceuticals
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead managers: First Albany and Stifel Nicolaus
• Filed: July 25

Trident Resources

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: TRNT
• Industry: Natural gas developer
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead managers: Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, TD Securities, and JP Morgan
• Filed: July 24

Disabled list
CHG Healthcare, a temporary health-care staffing provider, and RBS Global, a motion technology manufacturer, each withdrew their planned offerings last week. CHG cited unfavorable market conditions.

Current champions
Meet our current 2006 champs. Among companies that went public this calendar year, these firms' percentage returns from their offer prices to last week's closing price rank them as the top five players:

Current benchwarmers
Now meet our current 2006 benchwarmers -- that's nicer to say than "losers," isn't it? Among companies that went public this calendar year, these firms' percentage returns from their offer prices to last week's closing price rank them as the bottom five players:

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.

Last week, the IPO Plus Aftermarket, a mutual fund, increased 3.1%, clearly outperforming the First Trust IPOX 100, an ETF, which advanced 1.9%. The general market did even better, with the Russell 2000 gaining 4.2%, and the Nasdaq rising 3.7%.

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

We're publicly offering further Foolishness:

• IPO Market Gets Loop-y
• IPOs' Dirty Little Secret

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

J.P. Morgan is an Income Investor recommendation.

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 .