Firstrade Home
LockLogin: User ID Password  
WelcomeProducts & ServicesPricingMarkets & NewsRetirementKnowledge CenterSupport
Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese
Products & Services
 

Firstrade Newsletter


May 2008, Issue #26

The biggest IPO to date: Will it keep pace?

Welcome to the month of May! As a reminder, the markets will be closed on May 26th (Monday) in observance of Memorial Day. Investors should take this time to visit family & friends, barbeque, relax at the beach or cool down at the pool.

On March 19, 2008 as many know, Visa Inc., the world's largest retail electronic payment network, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "V" after its historic initial public offering in which it raised $17.86 billion. Visa's IPO is the largest domestic initial public offering in U.S. history and the third largest initial public offering worldwide.

Visa Inc. is the largest initial public offering in the United States followed by AT&T Wireless Services Inc., which raised $11.2 billion on April 26, 2000. Visa is also the third largest initial public offering in history preceded by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, which raised $21.9 billion on October 20, 2006 and NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., which raised $18.4 billion on October 12, 1998.

With an IPO price of $44 and an opening price that day of $59.50, VISA Inc. stock has continued to grow and is currently at $87.41 (May 6, 2008). If you consider the IPO of Visa's arch-rival MasterCard (NYSE: MA) two years ago. It, too, was a huge offering. Within months, the stock rose more than 400%.

So the question remains. Will Visa Inc. shares continue to rise and potentially outperform its closest competitor's IPO of a few years ago? Only time will tell.


Subprime Impact to the Online Brokerage Industry
Firstrade does not invest in any asset-backed securities, therefore we are not at all affected by the sub-prime mortgage problems. Rest assured that your account with Firstrade is safe, plus don't forget our unlimited account protection for all Firstrade customers.


Secure Trading Software Beta
Firstrade is piloting a new secure browser technology designed to protect you from spyware, key-loggers, and network attacks that can lead to identity fraud or the compromise of your account data. This unique approach to online security creates an isolated "clean" environment while you conduct online transactions. Click here for more information and to join the pilot!



If you have any additional suggestions or would like to see a topic covered in the next newsletter, please send an e-mail to editor@firstrade.com.

What's New at Firstrade
Need to transfer your account from another broker to Firstrade, use our new Online Transfer Wizard to make the process quick and easy!

On the Roadmap
We are exploring ways to enhance the trading platform, and constantly adding more mutual funds to our system.

Firstrade's Favorites

Check out the list of stocks held by the largest number of Firstrade accounts currently.


1. MSFT - Microsoft Corp.
2. AAPL - Apple Inc.
3. CSCO - Cisco Systems Inc.
4. GE - General Electric Co. (up from 8)
5. C - Citigroup Inc. (down from 4)
6. SIRI - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.(down from 5)
7. ALU - Alcatel Lucent (down from 6)
8. INTC - Intel Corp. (down from 7)
9. PFE - Pfizer Inc.
10. V - Visa Inc. (New top 10!)

Current Promotions

  • Refer a Friend
    Earn 5 free trades for you and a friend when they open and fund a new Firstrade account that you referred. Feel free to refer as many friends as you want! Click here for more information.
  • Free Trend Micro AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware
    Firstrade is offering AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware 2007 free of charge for one year to all of our customers! Click here for more information.
A Quick Look @ EnergySolutions Inc. (NYSE: ES)
In every issue we take a quick look at a stock that has been in the news. Feel free to make suggestions as to what stock you would like to see covered next by sending an email to editor@firstrade.com, or the editor will pull a random symbol out of a hat.

This month we take a look at the largest nuclear waste company in the United States, EnergySolutions Inc. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and with operations in 40 states, this company is a provider of specialized, technology-based nuclear services to government and commercial customers. The Company’s range of nuclear services includes engineering, in-plant operations, outsourced specialty services, spent nuclear fuel management, decontamination and decommissioning (D&D), logistics, transportation, processing and disposal. It also owns and operates facilities that complement its services. The Company derives almost all of its revenues from the provision of nuclear services. Its government customers include the United States Departments of Energy and Defense, and the United Kingdom Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. EnergySolutions, Inc. provides its services through three segments: Federal Services, Commercial Services, and Logistics, Processing and Disposal (LP&D).


(chart of EnergySolutions since IPO)

Key Events:
  1. 1988: Envirocare was founded by Iranian immigrant Khosrow Semnani.
  2. May 1997: Envirocare's largest customer, the US Department of Energy requested Semnani to step down in the wake of a bribery scandal.
  3. December 2004: Semnani sold Envirocare for an undisclosed sum.
  4. February 2, 2006: Envirocare announced the $90 million purchase of BNG America, a subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL). The combined company changed its name to EnergySolutions, with corporate headquarters based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
  5. February 7, 2006: EnergySolutions announced the purchase of Maryland-based Duratek for $396 million in an all-cash deal.
  6. November 29, 2006: Energy Solutions outbid and replaced Delta Air Lines for the naming rights on the arena that is home to the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
  7. December 3, 2007: EnergySolutions Inc. began trading on the NYSE under the symbol ES. Stock price opened at $23.70.
  8. April 1, 2008: EnergySolutions Inc. announced that it has received additional funding from the Department of Energy to continue work under the cooperative agreement to perform Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Program (GNEP) Deployment Studies.
  9. April 14, 2008: EnergySolutions Inc. and Toshiba announced plans to bid for a nuclear site in United Kingdom.

 

 
Transfer to Firstrade for Free
Contact UsLive Chat
Forms Download Center
Spacer
Quotes:
Find Symbol
Past Issues
Read past issues of the Firstrade Newsletter by choosing from the drop-down menu below.

Subscribe to the Firstrade Newsletter
Email Address:
GO!
Take a Tour!
Watch our flash-based tutorial to learn more about Firstrade, and how you can open an account in minutes!
Learn More >>
At a Glance:
  Welcome
Products & Services
Chinese (Traditional)
  Pricing
Markets & News
Chinese (Simplified)
  Retirement
Knowledge Center
  Support
Forms Center
  Site Map
Contact Us
 

©2008 Firstrade Securities Inc. All rights reserved. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Important Information
| Privacy Policy | Security Center
System response and access times may vary due to market conditions, system performance, and other factors.