Scouting the Latest IPOs

Just like opening day at the ballpark, investing in new IPOs holds the potential for shining promise or 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 gives 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. No official winners emerged; two teams tied, both posting unexciting scores.

Osiris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OSIR)

• Industry: Stem-cell biotech
• Deal terms: $11 per share, at the low end of its projected range; 3.5 million shares
• Lead manager: Jefferies & Company
• Opening day: Aug. 4; opened flat and closed flat
• Bleacher banter: Shares traded up to $11.48 before catching Friday's market downdraft.

Security Capital Assurance (NYSE:SCA)

• Industry: Financial guaranty and reinsurance
• Deal terms: $20.50 per share, below its expected range; 22.4 million shares
• Lead manager: Goldman Sachs
• Opening day: Aug. 2; opened at $20.90 and closed at $20.50; flat
• Bleacher banter: Climbed as high as $21.22 on opening day, making it look like one of the industry's more successful recent debuts.

Loser: Buckeye GP Holdings (NYSE:BGH)

• Industry: Oil and gas transporter
• Deal terms: $17 per share, below its projected range; 10.5 million shares
• Lead managers: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup
• Opening day: Aug. 4; opened at $16.75 and closed at $16.23; 4.5% loss
• Bleacher banter: Weak demand prompted the offering to be lowered from 14.1 million shares.

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

Aircastle Limited

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: AYR
• Industry: Aircraft leasing
• Proposed deal terms: $21-$23 per share; 9.09 million shares
• Lead manager: JPMorgan Chase

Evercore Partners

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: EVR
• Industry: Investment banking boutique
• Proposed deal terms: $18-$20 per share; 3.95 million shares
• Lead manager: Lehman Brothers

GNC

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: GNC
• Industry: Nutritional supplement retailer
• Proposed deal terms: $16-$18 per share; 23.53 million shares
• Lead managers: Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and UBS

InterMetro Communications

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: MTRO
• Industry: Voice-over-Internet service provider
• Proposed deal terms: $8-$10 per share; 2.25 million shares
• Lead managers: Ladenburg Thalmann

Qimonda AG

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: QI
• Industry: Semiconductors
• Proposed deal terms: $16-$18 per American depositary share; 63 million shares
• Lead managers: Credit Suisse, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase

Game of the week
German chip maker Qimonda may play a noteworthy game this week, in a deal expected to raise approximately $1.1 billion.

Parent company Infineon (NYSE:IFX) will initially retain a 79% ownership interest in Qimonda, which will receive between $672 million and $756 million in proceeds, to be invested in production facilities and research. The deal is rumored to be attracting significant investor interest, a surprising development amid tough times for both the Nasdaq and the IPO market. If you're further influenced by the Philadelphia Semiconductor index's more than 14% drop for the year, perhaps you might consider merely watching this game from the baselines.

Warming up in the bullpen
Other than additional terms relating to games scheduled for this week, no other companies announced further details of their offering plans.

Sent down to the minors
Asset Capital Corporation, scheduled to make its debut last week, indefinitely postponed its offering.

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

Freedom Acquisition Holdings

• Proposed ticker: AMEX: FRH.U
• Industry: Blank check company
• Proposed deal terms: $8 per unit, 37.5 million units
• Lead managers: Citigroup and Ladenburg Thalmann
• Filed: Aug. 2

Onebeacon Insurance Group

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: OB
• Industry: Property and casualty insurance
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead managers: Lehman Brothers and Bank of America
• Filed: Aug. 4

Southern National Bancorp of Virginia

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: SONA
• Industry: Regional bank
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead managers: FIG Partners
• Filed: Aug. 4

U.S. BioEnergy

• Proposed ticker: Nasdaq: USBE
• Industry: Ethanol producer
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead managers: UBS, Credit Suisse, and Piper Jaffray
• Filed: Aug. 3

Vanguard Car Rental Group

• Proposed ticker: NYSE: VCG
• Industry: Car rental services
• Proposed deal terms: Not yet determined
• Lead managers: JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, and Goldman Sachs
• Filed: Aug. 2

Viragen

• Proposed ticker: AMEX: VRA.U
• Industry: Biotech
• Proposed deal terms: Up to 67 million units
• Lead managers: Dawson James Securities
• Filed: July 31

Disabled list
Alien Technologies, a manufacturer of radio frequency identification products, and Amicus Therapeutics, a biotech, each withdrew their planned offerings last week.

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 & 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, you should do your scouting homework here, too, and make sure you read their prospectuses before buying season tickets.

Last week, the First Trust IPOX 100 (AMEX:FPX), an ETF, declined 0.2%. That weak performance still topped the IPO Plus Aftermarket (FUND:IPOSX) mutual fund, which slid into second place, declining 2.6%. The general market didn't break much new ground, with the Russell 2000 gaining 0.2%, and the Nasdaq losing 0.4%.

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 for this article include Renaissance Capital's IPOhome.com, SEC filings, and Reuters news reports.

JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are Motley Fool Income Investor picks. Want more great stocks that pay you to invest? Try Income Investor free for 30 days.

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.