3Q IPOs: Palo Alto Networks, Trulia Shine In Dismal Quarter

Did the botched initial public offering of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social networking site, in May poison the technology sector for the third quarter? Yes, apparently, suggest new figures compiled by IPO investment bank Renaissance Capital.

Only two technology IPOs were completed, and they were standouts: network security specialist Palo Alto Networks (Nasdaq: PANW) of Santa Clara, Calif., up 21 percent since its July debut, and real estate online adviser Trulia (Nasdaq: TRLA) of San Francisco, down 12 percent since its IPO last week.

The Renaissance Capital reckoning apparently omits the IPO of Peregrine Semiconductor (Nasdaq: PSMI) of San Diego, up about 11 percent since its debut last month.

The good news: 310 companies worldwide want to go public, the bank said, in the hopes of raising $189 billion. The bad news: “As the outlook for global equity markets remains uncertain, companies worldwide continue to wait for the opportune time to move forward.”

Overall, the third quarter’s biggest IPO was the renewed listing of Japan Airlines (Tokyo: 9201), which raised $8.4 billion, and finance and consumer companies combined accounted for about 48 percent of activity. Asia accounted for four of the five biggest deals.

In North America, the amount raised via IPOs fell to $20.7 billion from $22.9 billion; global returns from the new listings were 12 percent.

In the U.S., smaller sizes helped boost the returns for both Palo Alto Networks and Trulia, Renaissance Capital said. Facebook, of Menlo Park, Calif., raised $16 billion in its IPO, in a deal that spawned dozens of shareholder lawsuits that aren’t likely to come to trial until early 2013, lawyers say. An 11-member panel of federal judges still hasn’t decided on the venue after hearing arguments in New York last week.

Facebook shares, at $21.32 on Friday, are down 44 percent from their IPO price.

Some well-known technology companies, such as Twitter and Square, both of San Francisco, have both said any IPO might not come until 2013. Both have valuations exceeding $1 billion.