IPO Market Heats Up

It hardly qualifies as a 1999-style party, but for the first time in a while the initial public offering market is making some noise.

This year already has seen more than 180 new issues come to market, and the deals are still flowing. Thursday saw pricings in rural telecom provider Iowa Telecommunications (IWA Quote), Dallas-based insurer Specialty Underwriters (SUAI Quote) and biotech researcher PRA International (PRAI Quote). This morning, shares in media tech player PortalPlayer (PLAY Quote) are due to start trading.

While this year's output amounts to just a fraction of the 486 IPOs that bubbled forth in the peak year of 1999, it's a huge improvement on the last three years. Between 2001 and 2003, fewer than 85 new issues came forth annually. And most IPOs are gaining on their first day, if only modestly, pointing to a healthy market, observers say. ...