FormFactor Shares Jump on Debut

Updated from June 11.

A slow IPO market has served the few companies to have gone public this year very well. FormFactor (FORM Quote), a manufacturer of semiconductor-testing equipment, is the latest to join the party.

FormFactor shares were recently up $4.20, or 30%, at $18.25 on their debut of trading. The 6 million share offering priced late Wednesday at $14 a share, $1 above the top end of the final price-talk range. It is the first IPO to price above range since the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Quote) last December, according to Thomson First Call.

Since the beginning of the year, only seven new issues have come to market. With one exception, each stock is trading above its debut price, in concurrence with gains in the broader market. "The improvement in these stocks' performance is an indication that the investor is starting to embrace the value that is in these companies," said David Menlow, president of IPOFinancial.com. ...