• October 3, 2000

Still in recovery from the Spring 2000 crash in Nasdaq technology stocks, the IPO market for the third quarter of 2000 ended much as it began - in the dot-com doldrums, according to the latest Hoover's Online IPO Scorecard.

In Q3 2000, 133 IPO companies priced, with only two sporting a dot-com in their names. This compares to 147 IPO pricings in Q3 1999, among which 19 companies claimed a dot-com name. Among the strongest-performing for Q3 were IPO companies involved in fiber optics, wireless and communication equipment, Internet infrastructure and biotechnology.

"It's clear the dot-com honeymoon is over, especially since one of the two so-named companies for Q3 2000 charted the second worst return for the quarter," said Kenan Pollack, Money channel editor of Hoover's Online.

"Investors continue to be discerning. A year ago, anything Internet was a no-exception winner, but now firms must represent key sectors such as optical networking, energy or data storage, and they must have solid financials, or a real path to profitability, to back them up. New economy or not, when it comes to bottom lines, black is better than red."