Omniture Inc., the Orem-based developer of online business management software, missed its target on its first day of trading as a public company.
The company, which began trading on Nasdaq Wednesday under the symbol OMTR, closed at $6.53 per share, up 3 cents from its opening price.
The underwriters of Omniture's 10.7 million share initial public offering — Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan and CS First Boston — expected the stock to fetch between $7.50 and $9 per share.
Omniture spokeswoman Kristi Knight said the company is still in its "quiet period," and therefore could not comment.
The company announced late Tuesday its IPO would include 8.7 million shares from Omniture and 2 million shares from selling stockholders. It gave the underwriters the right to buy an additional 1.6 million shares of common stock to cover over- allotments.
At that time, Omniture said it expected to raise about $50.1 million from the offering, which it would use to pay a $4 million license payment and for general corporate purchases.
Opinions regarding the company and its value were mixed as trading proceeded Wednesday. William Gabrielski, a contributor for RealMoney.com, wrote on thestreet.com Web site that "although the stock warranted speculation in that ($7.50 to $9 per share) range, this discount makes for a somewhat attractive entry point for risk takers."
"Omniture is a pure play on the growing need and demand for Web traffic intelligence and analysis," Gabrielski wrote. "As a result of increased affordable Web access, companies are more dependent on the Web for retail sales and marketing campaigns, and knowing where and how to stimulate consumer interest will be as a key competitive differentiator."
BusinessWeek magazine's Timothy J. Mullaney wrote Tuesday that "Omniture is an interesting deal, but with considerable flaws." BusinessWeek is an Omniture client.
"Its market godfather is probably salesforce.com, the leading software-as-a-service company since its 2004 IPO," Mullaney wrote. "But salesforce has stumbled in recent months after a big post-IPO run. As with sales force, stiff competition and high valuation make Omniture an outfit to approach with caution."
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