Franklin Bank Cashes In on IPO

When it comes to IPOs these days, the less sexy the better may be the guiding logic for investors.

A day after online travel booking company Orbitz (ORBZ Quote) flopped and China Life(LFC Quote) went over the top in their debuts, Franklin Bank(FBTX Quote) rose more than 20% from its offering price Thursday.

Shares of the Houston-based savings and loan company were up $3.35, or 23%, at $17.85, after being priced at $14.50 a share, the high end of the target range. Approximately 9.2 million shares were sold, 20% more than originally planned.

China Life, China's largest life insurer, sold 161 million shares at $18.68 a share, valuing the offering at more than $3 billion. Shares were down 68 cents, or 2.9%, to $23.04, after closing with a 27% gain their opening day.

Shares of Orbitz were down $1.98, or 7.9%, to $23.00, following a 5.19% loss in a turbulent first day of trading. Orbitz sold 12.18 million shares for $26 a share, valuing the offering at $317 million.

Almost two dozen IPOs were slated to launch in December. That's double the number in the first half of the year alone and the busiest month in three years.

The underwriters in the Franklin IPO are Friedman Billings Ramsey, RBC Capital Markets, Sandler O'Neill & Partners and Stephens Inc.