NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (NASDAQ(r)) (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced its 2007 listings statistics. NASDAQ attracted more initial public offerings (IPOs) last year than any other U.S. exchange. Of the 237 IPOs that were eligible to list on NASDAQ or the NYSE Group last year, NASDAQ listed 154, or 65 percent.
Many of the largest U.S. IPOs, as measured by proceeds raised, listed on NASDAQ. They were led by Interactive Broker Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:IBKR) and TFS Financial Corporation, (Nasdaq:TFSL), which raised more than $1.2 billion and $871.3 million, respectively.
Led by DirectTV (Nasdaq:DTV), more market capitalization switched to NASDAQ from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2007, a total of $28.3 billion. DirectTV was the first NYSE-listed company to switch to NASDAQ and retain its three character ticker symbol.
NASDAQ continued to win more new listings than any other U.S. exchange, as measured by the total number of issues. During 2007, NASDAQ captured 290 new listings, comprised of the following categories:
4th Qtr
2007 2007 2006
------- ---- ----
Total New Listings 90 290 285
Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) 44 154 156
Amex & NYSE Switches/Dual Listings 14 34 37
Upgrades from OTCBB & Pink Sheets 20 75 59
ETFs, Structured Products & Other Listings 12 27 33
Notable listings in 2007 included the IPOs of National CineMedia, Inc. (Nasdaq:NCMI), Los Angeles-based REIT MerueloMaddux Properties (Nasdaq:MMPI) and Clearwire Corporation (Nasdaq:CLWR) and the switches from the American Stock Exchange (Amex) of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:HALO), National Beverage Corp. (Nasdaq:FIZZ), and PowerSecure International (Nasdaq:POWR). NASDAQ also saw several notable industrial listings, including the IPOs of Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:OESX) and Greek shipping company Paragon Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:PRGN) and the Amex switches of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX) and PowerSecure International, Inc.
NASDAQ saw 45 non-U.S. new listings in 2007, including the switch of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (Nasdaq:SBLK) from the Amex and the IPOs of Argentinean Internet commerce company MercadoLibre, Inc. (Nasdaq:MELI), Canadian yoga-inspired athletic apparel company lululemon athletica (Nasdaq:LULU), Chinese media company VisionChina Media Inc. (Nasdaq:VISN), and Bermuda-based insurer Castlepoint Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:CPHL).
Of the 31 companies that switched from the Amex, 12 elected to retain their three character symbols. This was made possible by the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of a NASDAQ proposal in July 2007 to allow NASDAQ to accept three character ticker symbols -- in addition to the four character symbols NASDAQ has historically used.
Below is a partial list of the Amex companies that switched to NASDAQ in 2007:
Company Ticker Symbol ------- ------------- Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. Nasdaq:HALO Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Nasdaq:SBLK Akorn, Inc. Nasdaq:AKRX Medivation, Inc. Nasdaq:MDVN
Other notable developments in 2007 are highlighted below:
- Watson Wyatt and Company Holdings (SYMBOL: WW) and Allied Capital Corporation (SYMBOL: ALD) dual listed their common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. These listings increased to 12 the number of NYSE-listed securities that have dual listed on NASDAQ. - The NASDAQ Global Select Market -- which has the highest initial listing standards in the world -- became the largest of NASDAQ's three listing tiers. As of December 31, 2007, there were 1,156 companies listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.
To view all new NASDAQ listings in 2007, visit http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/documents/NASDAQ_New_Listings_2007.pdf
Statistics are sourced from internal NASDAQ information. IPOs include offerings done on a "best efforts" basis. For more information about these and other NASDAQ market performance statistics, visit www.nasdaqfacts.com/newlistings.
NASDAQ is the largest U.S. equities exchange. With approximately 3,100 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks as well as a leading liquidity pool for trading NYSE-listed stocks. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the NASDAQ Newsroom at www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/.
NDAQG