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Here come the IPOs
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September 26, 1999: 7:45 p.m. ET
An onslaught of company debuts in coming days after week of high-flyers
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The week ahead brings another onslaught of initial public offerings, following a series of surprisingly strong company debuts in the last few days.
In the largest IPO slated for this week, Williams Communications, "WCG," is scheduled to float 29.6 million shares priced in the $21 to $23 range.
The Tulsa, Okla.-based provider of voice, data, Internet and video services has become a darling among analysts, who call the company a great play on the growth of the Internet's infrastructure.
"They are creating the backbone that all the other communications companies can utilize," said Charles Kaplan, IPO analyst at Equity Analytics.
Salomon Smith Barney is lead underwriter on the offering.
In other notable IPOs, Blackrock, "BLK," is set to sell 9 million shares in the $14 to $17 range.
New York based Blackrock, with $141 billion under management, will be the first money management firm to go public in a while.
As such, the offering will be viewed as a litmus test for the much-anticipated October debut of mutual fund company Neuberger & Berman, with $56 billion under management.
A series of the week's IPOs are delayed offerings. Among them FTD.com, "EFTD," is set to float 4.5 million shares in the $10 to $12 range.
The last florist to go public has not performed well, with shares of 1-800-Flowers (FLWS) down since their early August debut.
In other familiar names, Medscape, "MSCP," is set to sell 6.5 million shares in the $7 to $9 range.
The IPO of New York-based medical Web site would come two months after drkoop.com (KOOP), a group of Web sites led by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, jumped 39 percent in its first day of trading.
Still, with a host of other medical Web sites in existence, some analysts say the market has become crowded.
PCQuote.com, "PCQT," plans to offer 7.75 million shares in the $11 to $12 price range. The Chicago-based financial Web site, which uses CNNfn.com news stories, is a distributor of stock quotes, financial news and information.
Financial news Web sites have had stellar debuts. Both the TheStreet.com (TSCM) and CBS.MarketWatch.com (MKTW), which compete with CNNfn.com for readers, soared on their first day of trade. But the longer term outlook has proven less favorable, as both stocks are well off their highs.
Whatever happens in the week's IPOs, last week will be remembered as one of the best recently for company debuts. Despite a faltering stock market, Alteon WebSystems (ATON), eGain (EGAN) and Interactive Intelligence Inc (ININ) all saw triple-digit increases in their debuts. 
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