Thinking of investing in an IPO? It pays to do your homework.
The recent publicity over Facebook's initial public offering (IPO), and its uneven performance post IPO, makes one wonder how does one evaluate an IPO objectively? Many people, despite analysts predictions about the value of the stock being over priced, took the leap and invested. One of the keys to smart investing is doing your homework. And while many technology or new companies don't have a long financial track record to go on, there are still many sources that you can consult to garner information about a company about to go public. And many are available with the use of your library card. Listed below are just a few of the great resources TPL subscribes to.
For companies trading on United States exchanges, or who are considering going public, Mergent offers a wealth of information, including annual reports, industry analysis, and EDGAR filings. An at a glance profile of companies will give you key financials, executives, and a spreadsheet of competitors with relevant financials for comparison with the company who you are looking at. Available remotely from TPL website with a library card and in library.
The venerable Business and Company Resource Center offers a snap shot of a company, as well as tabs on recent articles on the company broken down by topic, a history of the company, industry overview, rankings, as well as analyst house investment reports. This database is international in scope of the companies covered. Available remotely from TPL website with a library card and in library.
The Value Line service has been around since the 1930s and is one of the most trusted and asked for stock guides that TPL subscribes to. This source gives a concise, one page overview of a company, including historic stock tracking, analysts views, analysis of specific industries, as well as newsletters. Available remotely from TPL website with a library card and in library.
FP Advisor, a product of the Financial Post, offers a wealth of information on Canadian companies, including historic information, key personnel and financials, new issues and supplemental databases that include Crosbie Mergers & Acquisitions in Canada, Equifax Commercial Law Record, and ProFile Canada. Available remotely from TPL website with a library card and in library.
Sedar provides access to public documents for companies across Canada. Maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators, this website contains documents filed since 1997. It includes profiles of public companies as well as Investment Fund Groups. One can browse or search by the name of the company. Freely available on the internet.
A source for a list of Ontario based companies IPOs is the OSC Bulletin. This periodical, published weekly by the Ontario Securities Commission, holds a wealth of information on company filings. Each issue has a chapter (Chapter 11 to be precise) that contains a handy list of IPOs, New Issues and Secondary Financings. Copies are available in the Business Department at North York Central Library and in the Business, Science and Technology Department at the Toronto Reference Library.
Check these out and become a savvy investor.
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