Yelp IPO still expected despite signs of weakness in market

SAN FRANCISCO -- Yelp Inc. is still expected to price its initial public offering Thursday evening, despite some signs of weakness that have crept into the IPO market.

Two debuts that were scheduled to trade Thursday -- GCT Semiconductor and Provident Mortgage Capital -- were postponed by the underwriters. Both had seen signs of weakening demand leading up to their expected pricings.

Provident filed papers Wednesday cutting the size of its offering to five million shares from the previously expected 8.33 million shares.

Scott Sweet of IPO Boutique said Thursday morning underwriters are still expecting to price Yelp's IPO Thursday afternoon, with the stock expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday morning under the ticker symbol "YELP."

The company plans to sell 7.1 million shares at a price range of $12 to $14 per share -- which could raise about $100 million at the high end of the range.

However, even Yelp seems to be facing some headwinds. In an email to clients early Thursday, Sweet lowered his rating on the IPO to three from four, citing channel checks revealing "serious concern regarding current and future competition," even though he says the deal remains "multiple times oversubscribed."

He later moved that rating back up to four, citing feedback that the price range of the IPO "will be in all likelihood at the high end or higher" of the expected range.

Yelp is the latest in a round of IPOs from the internet/social media space, following the likes of LinkedIn, Zynga and Groupon last year. It is also expected to be the last of these deals until social networking giant Facebook pulls the trigger on its own IPO.

Yelp saw revenue jump 75 percent in 2011 to $83.3 million, but the company remains in the red, reporting a net loss of $16.7 million for the period. It claims about 66 million current monthly unique visitors.

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Provident Mortgage Capital, GCT Semiconductor, New York Stock Exchange, Yelp, price range, initial public offering Thursday evening online

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