Bankers priced five new issues in the month to kick off the New Year. That made it the busiest IPO January since 2000. The sum total of all IPOs for Januaries of 2001, 2002 and 2003 was only four deals, according to available records.

Four of this year’s five deals were priced above their original offering terms. Each did very well in the aftermarket. They were:

K-Sea Transportation Partners (KSP: chart), a Staten Island-based marine transporter of petroleum products, priced its IPO of 3.625 million common units, which represents a limited partnership interest, at $23.50 each for trading on Friday, Jan. 9, 2004. The deal was priced above its original filing range of 3.5 million common units at $21.50 to $23.50 each. The IPO closed its opening day at $27.09 a unit -- up 15.3 percent from its initial offering price. That’s not too bad, considering the company intends to pay an annual cash-distribution of $2 per unit. Securities such as this trade on a yield basis, and generally don’t produce an opening-day moonshot.

The IPO closed Friday, Jan. 30, 2004, at $27.60 a unit -- up 17.5 percent from its offering price.

Crosstex Energy (XTXI: chart), a Dallas-based company that owns a 54.3 percent interest in Crosstex Energy, L.P. (XTEX: chart), a publicly traded limited partnership, priced its IPO of 2.3 million shares at $19.50 each for trading on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2004. The deal was offered above its original price range of $16.50 to $18.50 a share. The IPO closed its opening day at $25.40 a share -- up 30.3 percent from its initial offering price.

The IPO closed Friday, Jan. 30, 2004, at $28.10 a share -- up 44.1 percent from its offering price.

And last week:
General Properties Trust (GPP: chart), an Omaha-based newly formed real estate investment trust, priced its IPO of 16.8 million shares at $10 each for trading on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004. The deal was priced above its original filing range of 10 million shares. The IPO closed its opening day at $13.02 a share -- up 30.2 percent from its initial offering price.

The IPO closed Friday, Jan. 30, 2004, at $13.23 a share -- up 32.3 percent from its offering price.

Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, a New York City-based biopharmaceutical company, priced its IPO of 6.5 million shares at $21 each for trading on Friday, Jan. 30. 2004. The deal was offered above its original price range of $18 to $20 a share. The IPO closed its opening day at $32.40 a share -- up 54.3 percent from its initial offering price.

But Wall Street doesn’t live by IPOs alone.

Wall Street’s equities syndicate desks, which handle secondary, follow-on and IPO offerings, had a busy time last week. Bankers priced 18 secondary offerings in addition to the two IPOs.

All but a couple of the secondary offerings “worked,” by Wall Street jargon. When a deal “works,” it means that the stock trades above its offering price. But there was a reason for last week’s success.

In almost every case, the offering price was set below the stock’s close on the evening that the secondary issue was priced. A little discount or markdown never hurts. In fact, it helps give a stock a good start the next day.

However, sometimes the lines gets a little blurred between a secondary and an IPO. It happened last week. It was the Israeli offering of Lipman Electronic Engineering (LPMA: chart).

On Jan. 12, 2004, Lipman Electronic filed to offer 3 million ordinary shares in the United States. The company was selling 2.25 million shares and selling shareholders were selling 750,000 shares.

Before then, the stock had been traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) since May 1993. Thus, any investor who met the requirements of the TASE could step in and buy stock ahead of its U.S. offering. In Lipman’s case, it would have been a good trade.

On Jan. 11, 2004, Lipman’s last sale on the TASE was at NIS (new Israeli shekels) 181.50 a share, according to available sources. By Jan. 26, 2004, the stock had sold high at NIS213.60 a share -– up about 18 percent from its last sale on Jan. 11. The offering was priced on Jan. 29, 2004, at NIS186.50 a share, or US$41.60 a share, based upon the then-rate of exchange.

The stock opened in New York City at US$42.01 a share on the morning of Jan. 29, 2004. The deal “worked.”

Some of the IPO reporting services might classify the Lipman deal as an IPO. In reality, the deal was a secondary offering. Its stock had been publicly traded in Tel Aviv for about eight years.