UPDATE 1-ChinaEdu, Cardtronics fall in market debut

(Recasts lead, adds analyst comment, updates share price)

NEW YORK Dec 11 (Reuters) - ChinaEdu Corp (CEDU.O), a Chinese company that offers online degree programs, and Cardtronics Inc (CATM.O), a U.S. operator of automated teller machines, failed to win over investors in their market debuts on Tuesday.

ChinaEdu closed 20 percent below its initial public offering price of $10, while Cardtronics fell 5 percent from its IPO price of $10, which was priced at the bottom of lowered expectations.

"We are now clearly seeing over saturation of Chinese IPOs," said Scott Sweet, managing director of research firm IPOboutique.com, of ChinaEdu's poor reception.

"The deals are not as good quality as predecessors," Sweet added, noting that investor sentiment for Chinese IPOs on U.S. exchanges began to cool last month.

Year to date, 30 Chinese companies have launched initial public offerings on either the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NDAQ.O) or on the Big Board, raising more than $6 billion.

Chinese IPOs have been all the rage for U.S. investors in recent months, with many posting double-digit gains. But Sweet said that, since last month, investors are showing less appetite for risky bets, preferring already listed stocks that have been beaten down to bargain valuations.

Several more Chinese IPOs are expected before the year end, many with rich valuations, but the inflated prices are not enticing investors, even when prices are lowered.

"Price cuts are still not satisfactory, as evidenced by ChinaEdu," Sweet added.

On Monday, the online education company sold 6.82 million ADS for $10, compared with a forecast range of $10 to $12. By the close on Tuesday the shares were trading at $7.97.

Noah Education Holdings Ltd (NED.N) -- another Chinese education company that recently listed on NYSE Euronext's (NYX.N)(NYX.PA) New York Stock Exchange -- has also lost share value, closing 40 percent below its $14 IPO price in October.

The double-digit drop for ChinaEdu's market debut came as wider stock markets slipped on disappointment over the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest rate cut. The Dow Jones Industrial average index .DJI ended down 2.14 percent, while bellwether index Standard & Poor's 500 .SPX fell 2.53 percent.

ATM Crunch

Cardtronics shares closed down 5 percent, or 50 cents below the ATM operators $10 a share IPO.

On Monday, Cardtronics cut both the size and expected price for its initial public offering, which had been expected last week.

Later the same day, the company sold 12 million shares at the low end of its expected price range of $10 to $11 each, slashing a plan to sell a portion of the shares being offered by stockholders, it said in an amended filing with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission.

IPOboutique's Sweet said Cardtronics failed to attract much interest because it had a patchy earnings performance, was overburdened with debt and is losing market share as consumers use debit and credit cards more frequently for purchases.

The Houston, Texas-based company operates 28,600 ATMs in the United States, a market share of about 7 percent, it said in its regulatory filing.

Cardtronics last recorded a profit in 2004 and posted a loss of $531,000 on revenue of $293.6 million in 2006, and a loss of $2.4 million on revenue of $269 million in 2005. (Reporting by Lilla Zuill; Editing by Andre Grenon)