Dave Stone
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 Posted:
Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:00 am Post subject:
Re: iROBOT CORPORATION ? |
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Nice to know the robot relative of the Roomba vacuum will be fighting in
future energy wars. >> http://www.irobot.com NASDAQ: IRBT
iRobot provides robots that enable people to complete complex
tasks in a better way. Our Roomba floor vacuuming robot and recently
announced Scooba floor washing robot perform time-consuming domestic
chores, and our PackBot tactical military robots perform battlefield
reconnaissance and bomb disposal. In addition, we are developing the
Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle reconnaissance robot for the U.S. Army’s
transformational Future Combat Systems program and, in conjunction with
Deere & Company, the R-Gator unmanned ground vehicle. We sell our robots
to consumers through a variety of distribution channels, including over
7,000 retail locations and our on-line store, and to the U.S. military
and other government agencies worldwide. |
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lkgeo1
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Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:00 pm Post subject:
Re: iROBOT CORPORATION ? |
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iRobot Sweeping Hearts and Minds
By Kevin Kelleher
TheStreet.com Contributor
11/11/2005 11:08 AM EST
Click here for more stories by Kevin Kelleher
Michael Jackson. Santa Claus. Some poor shmo dressed up like the Ask
Jeeves butler. As long as I can remember there's been somebody to ring
the Nasdaq opening bell.
On Wednesday, though, there was no body ringing the bell. There was
PackBot, the skinniest robot you've ever seen and the creation of
Burlington, Mass.-based iRobot (IRBT:Nasdaq - commentary - research -
Cramer's Take), which has pulled off one of the most successful and
celebrated IPOs of the year.
Of course, PackBot wasn't designed for photo ops but for disposing of
bombs and hazardous materials -- so using him as a symbol of an IPO
opens the door to a lot of easy jokes. But they would be out of place
now: In its first two days of trading, iRobot's shares shot up to
$34.50, or 44% above their $24 offering price. In early Friday trading,
the stock slipped nearly 3% to $33.55.
Even so, the occasion itself deserves notice because it can mean only
one of two things: the Nasdaq is so desperate to drum up new IPOs that
it's resorting to desperate gimmicks, or iRobot, best known for a
robotic vacuum cleaner named Roomba, actually belongs in the public
markets.
Early indications are that the latter case is right. That may surprise
skeptics used to hearing that someday robots will be cheaply available
to handle a lot of tasks we're too busy to get to ourselves.
But with Roomba, iRobot is the first company to mass market a mobile
robot to handle such a task: cleaning floors. And since the Roomba
retails for about $300, it's been able to sell 1.5 million of them in
three years. A similar product called Scooba, which will clean and dry
floors, is due out next year.
"I don't think this is just hype," says David Menlow, president of
research firm IPO Financial Network. "It's a good piece of timing and
it's profitable. That makes it palatable in the eyes of investors."
Go to NEXT PAGE
http://www.thestreet.com/_aol/tech/kevinkelleher/10252502.html?cm_ven=AOL&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA
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