U.S. IPOs struggle

The effort behind finding the right price proved to be a challenge.

That all is still not well with stock markets,or the investors8217; mindset,is clear from the fact that once all-powerful IPOs are finding it difficult to gain acceptance.

Investors proved price-sensitive on Wednesday as six initial public offerings priced at the bottom of the expected range or below it,according to underwriters.

Another company priced at the midpoint of its expected range and sold more shares,also an indication that underwriters did not accurately gauge demand.

U.S. biotech company Codexis Inc priced shares at the bottom of the expected range,raising 7 percent less than anticipated. Learning software company DynaVox Inc also priced at the bottom of its expected range.

Biopharmaceutical company Alimera Sciences Inc,investment company THL Credit Inc TCRD.O,oil and gas services company Global Geophysical Services Inc and Canadian communications company Mitel Networks Corp all priced shares below their expected ranges.

Alimera and THL sold more shares than expected but Global Geophysical sold fewer.

Supply chain software company SPS Commerce Inc,the company that priced at the midpoint of its expected range and sold more shares,raised 23 percent more than anticipated.

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Many companies are racing to take advantage of an improved IPO market.

Recent issues have priced above the expected range and traded up,in contrast to many companies that slashed,postponed or ditched their IPO efforts upon confronting a more tempestuous market earlier in the year.

One more company,Excel Trust Inc,was still expected to price on Wednesday night.

Underwriters on the Codexis IPO were led by Credit Suisse. DynaVox was led by Piper Jaffray and Jefferies.

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Alimera was led by Credit Suisse and Citi. THL was led by Bank of America,Citi and Deutsche Bank. Credit Suisse and Barclays led the underwriters on the Global Geophysical IPO. Bank of America,JPMorgan and UBS led the Mitel offering.

SPS Commerce Inc8217;s IPO was led by Thomas Weisel Partners.

All of the companies are expected to begin trading on Thursday.