Wi-Fi IPOs Come To Market

First iPass took the plunge a week ago.

And today NetGear braved the IPO waters.

But while Wi-Fi may be hot on Wall Street, IPOs remain risky plays for investors.

NetGear priced at $14, 40% higher than the company was initially aiming for. It then opened for trading at $19.15 for another 37% pop. However, individual investors who bought at the open took a $1.46 loss for the day, as the stock closed at $17.69 on a volatile day for the stock market.

In short, the IPO market remains a great place for companies to raise money, but not for individual investors.

The broader market burst out of the gate Thursday morning on better than expected GDP, unemployment claims and Chicago manufacturing reports, only to give back much of it by the close.

The Nasdaq gained 14 to 1735, the S&P 500 rose 2 to 990, and the Dow climbed 33 to 9233. Volume rose to 1.6 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.86 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led 17-15 on the NYSE, but advancers led 18-13 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 59% on the NYSE, and 71% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 195-54 on the NYSE, and 263-8 on the Nasdaq.

After the close, Roxio warned and Adobe guided lower.

During the day, Monster Worldwide surged 13% after beating estimates, while Overstock.com plunged after missing its numbers.

DiamondCluster soared 37% after beating estimates, and Cray surged 14% on better than expected results.

AOL edged higher on the release of AOL 9.0.

StorageNetworks surged 16% on news that it plans to liquidate.

United Online rose 4% on its results, while Register.com slipped 1% on its earnings.

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