Reply.com Hits the IPO Trail

SAN RAMON, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Online auction site Reply.com has filed for IPO, the latest in a string of technology companies to take the public plunge in a tough market.

The company filed its S-1 with the SEC and hopes to raise $60 million through its offering. Jefferies & Company and Piper Jaffray will act as joint book-running managers, with Needham & Company and Think Equity acting as co-managers.

Reply.com's filing comes hot on the heels of the eagerly-anticipated IPO from online advertising specialist QuinStreet(QNST), which received a tepid welcome from investors earlier this month.

"We're still in a tough IPO market, without question -- there have already been seven postponements in 2010," Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at analyst firm IPO Boutique, told TheStreet. Companies going public at the moment, he added, should be extremely careful not to price their shares above what the market is willing to pay.

Described as an online marketing specialist, Reply.com touts its ability to provide clients with locally-targeted information on prospects in areas such as automotive and real estate. The company's customers include Ford(Ford), GM(GM) Chrysler(GM) and Zip Realty.

According to the company's S-1, Reply.com generated over 700,000 leads and worked with over 5,000 advertisers during the fourth quarter of 2009. The firm, which is profitable, grew its revenue from $23.3 million in fiscal 2008 to $34.3 million last year.

IPO Boutique's Sweet, however, warns that companies like QuinStreet and Reply.com face a major challenge from Google(GOOG), which has ramped up its online advertising efforts, launching services such as AdSense and AdWords in an attempt to monetize its vast search business.