Things may seem dull here in the dog days of summer as August fizzles away, but it’s only temporary. Signs are solid for the technology industry and the venture investment sector going forward. First, check out this post by Keith Benjamin, saying he thinks the current credit crunch will actually help the venture industry. And he reiterates his positive feelings in an op-ed piece on VentureBeat, saying technology stocks are “swinging back into favor.”
VMware’s IPO, which priced August 13, has become the latest symbol. It’s even been called “the Google of Virtualization,” as this piece from CNBC states. VMW offered its shares at $29, and they proceeded to rocket to $50 on the first day of trading — thus becoming the most successful IPO since Google. The shares are now trading around $70. For more detail on the VWware story, see this overview on Renaissance Capital’s IPOHome.com. 
Now, fast forward ten days and check out this AP story from August 24th: Tech Revival Predicted in IPO Market. It talks about what more is now coming in the way of tech IPOs, including NetSuite, EqualLogic, 3Par, and our own Minneapolis-based Compellent.
Look for a very upbeat fall if you’re a tech investor or a participant in the technology venture industry.
Did buy some vmware stocks at 50 $ when it hit the market and sold it off at 71 making some decent profit – only time will tell whether i should have held..
Riky, you did well….but I’d be watching for a dip to buy in again 🙂 and I’m betting some of those new issues will pop as well
[disclaimer: hey, I’m just a guy blogging in my pajamas! what the hell do I know? ha, ha…]
here’s a Mediapost comment on a BusinessWeek article today supporting the above theses….
“As the housing market continues its collapse, the tech sector is starting to look like ‘somewhat of a safe haven,’ says Standard & Poors’ analyst Scott Kessler. Since the stock market’s 387-point drop on Aug. 9, the tech sector hasn’t been impacted by the sustained slump. But a safe haven?
‘Money has got to go somewhere,’ says David Geltner, professor and director of MIT’s real estate program. Indeed, there is a ton of cash out there–particularly among large caps, and media firms, especially, are investing in online advertising. So far, Wall Street seems to approve.
Why? Because online advertising is cost-effective in a downturn market. Last time the economy took a dive, advertisers pulled back interactive spending in favor of more familiar territory, like TV and print. This time, if the overall economy hits a skid, online will be an option. In fact, Kessler says a marketing crunch could even speed up the transfer of ad dollars from traditional media to online. Not only is it less expensive, ‘you can spend it in small bites,’ he says. ‘When you do television buys, they are generally big commitments where money is required up front’. ”
The entire BusinessWeek story is here.