Financial Engines prices shares above expectations
Portfolio manager and advisory firm Financial Engines Inc. became the first company since late November to price shares of its initial public offering above expectations, raising $127.2 million late Monday.
The Palo Alto, Calif., company sold 10.6 million shares for $12 each to initial investors. It had expected a price range from $9 to $11.
Financial Engines was founded in 1996 by Stanford finance professor and economics Nobel winner William Sharpe. The company, which offers investment advice for employer-sponsored retirement plans, turned its first profit in 2009.
The company's success in pricing shares could signal a rebound in the IPO market after three of four companies last week priced shares in their expected range. Companies have had trouble raising as much money as they had hoped for since December 2009 as investors, made wary by volatile stock markets and unsettling economic signals, demanded discounts.
Goldman Sachs and UBS Investment Bank are the lead underwriters. Shares of Financial Engines are expected to start trading Tuesday under the symbol "FNGN" on the Nasdaq Global Market.
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