IPOs Mostly Duds

Moreover, the price cuts didn't prove sufficient to coax many buyers into shares of two of the three. Omniture was recently down 34 cents, or 5.2%, to $6.16, while Replidyne was flat at $10. J. Crew helped lift fellow retailer PGTI, however, and shares were up $1.20, or 8.6%, to $15.20.

"The overall tone in the IPO market now is not very good," Lovett says.

Equity offerings are facing an uncertain market during a time of year that is usually welcoming. Historically, the week before the July 4 holiday hosts multiple IPOs as issuers try to squeeze in deals before the lulls in July and August.

This year is different. The equity market is especially uncertain this week as Wall Street waits for an interest-rate decision from the Federal Reserve, due Thursday. The decision and accompanying policy statement are viewed as pivotal to market sentiment after the correction of the past month and a half.

Meanwhile, the action in the broader market Tuesday didn't help the IPO hopefuls. Stocks had their biggest drop in three weeks during the session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 1.09%, the S&P 500 falling 0.91% and the Nasdaq Composite plunging 1.57%.

As a result, some companies slated to price yesterday decided to wait for another day. Wintegra(WNTG) cut the size of its IPO on Tuesday to 4.89 million shares, down from 5 million shares, and has reportedly delayed the deal. That's after the company cut its IPO price by $2 on June 9.

Gordon Biersch(BIER) cut its IPO price to $10 to $12 a share, from $11 to $13, although it still plans on pricing this week. Pacesetter Capital is also slated to price later this week, and the market will also be closely watching Aventine Renewable Energy, which is expected to price after the close Wednesday.

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