WRAPUP 2-A123 Systems soars 50.3 pct in mixed day for IPOs

* A123 has second best debut of year, rising 50.3 pct

* Artio up 4.8 percent, Vitacost flat, REITs down
(Adds closing stock prices, first-day performance)

By Phil Wahba

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Shares of A123 Systems Inc
AONE.O, a maker of lithium-ion car batteries, had the
second-best debut of any 2009 U.S. initial public offering,
rising 50.3 percent in their first trading session, far
outpacing the four other stocks that came to market on a
particularly busy day for IPOs.

With two more IPOs set to price on Thursday, including a
$960 million deal by Chinese online videogames maker Shanda
Games Ltd (GAME.O), the current week could see seven deals and
become the busiest since December 2007 for the rebounding U.S.
IPO market.

After starting at a 25.9 percent premium to their IPO
price, A123 shares closed the day at $20.29 on the Nasdaq in a
performance reminiscent of the frothy IPO market of a decade
ago, given the company has never made a profit.

The best first-day jump this year was by online restaurant
reservation company OpenTable Inc (OPEN.O), another
venture-backed company, which rose 59.5 percent in its debut in
May.

The four other initial offerings that began trading on
Thursday did not fare as well as A123, however, showing that
investors in the IPO market are still choosy.

"There a lot of excitement for the right deal in the right
sector," said Francis Gaskins, president of research firm IPO
Desktop. "But investors are looking at these on a deal by deal
basis. The floodgates have not reopened."

Artio Global Investors Inc ART.N, the U.S. asset
management arm of Swiss bank Julius Baer Holding AG (BAER.VX),
finished the day up 4.8 percent [ID:nN23405844], while online
health supplement retailer and manufacturer Vitacost.com Inc
(VITC.O) rose above the IPO price in the final minute of
trading to close the day with a gain of 0.42 percent. It had
earlier slid as much as 9.4 percent.

The two other IPOs, by commercial mortgage REITs, fell in
their debuts after both delayed and halved their IPOs earlier
this week. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (ARI.N) was
down 7.5 percent and Colony Financial Inc (CLNY.N) was off 2.5
percent as mortgage REITs met tepid demand from investors.
[ID:nN23400754]

Foursquare Capital Corp FSQR.N, a mortgage REIT backed by
asset manager AllianceBernstein (AB.N) that was to price on
Thursday after markets closed, postponed its IPO indefinitely.

Investors were drawn to A123 because every major global
automaker has plans to bring electric vehicles to the market in
the next two to three years, said ThinkEquity analyst Michael
Lew, who monitors the energy storage sector.

"It's a long-term play on the lithium-ion space," Lew
added.

Lew also said the warm reception of the IPO would encourage
other cleantech companies to tap the public markets.
[ID:nN23413572]

In addition to Shanda, hospital operator Select Medical
Holdings Corp (SEM.N) is scheduled to price after the close of
markets Thursday.
(Reporting by Phil Wahba, additional reporting by Poornima
Gupta; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Matthew Lewis)