LOL. I know through Ameritrade you can't short their own shares when I had an account with them 2 years ago.
What if you shorted them relentlessly on margin, they went bankrupt, and you had massive profits that exceeded SIPC limits?
Anyone else read through the S-1? Looks like 2006 NI available to common would have been $24.3 MM and they are looking to float 20 MM shares. That's EPS of 1.21 diluted (all of this is on page 48), so I guess they are looking at about a 20 PE on offering date. Sales growth CAGR was 22.4% and NI CAGR was 22.5% (essentially equivalent). With current range you're looking at a PEG ratio of ~1 -- so arguably fairly valued... What was interesting to me was the net interest income . (interest revenues net of interest expense) as a percent of sales grew from 2.4% in 2002 to 15% in 2006. ....all mildly interesting....
I'm finding the company structure confusing. At first reading it looks like they are issuing shares for a 5% share of a new public company Interactive Brokers Group Inc, with the existing owners holding 95% of this public company. This public company in turn holds 5% ownership of IBG LLC, which is the existing company from before the IPO. Again the original owners hold on to 95% of the existing company. Does this not mean that the 20,000,000 shares issued are for a 5% share of a 5% share? All the financials seem to assume the issued shares are simply for a 5% of the existing company.
IBKR IPO: Q12007 Filed 4/13/2007 http://edgar.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1381197/000110465907028348/a07-8752_3fwp.htm "Unexpectedly heavy options activity in advance of certain corporate announcements adversely impacted our market making operations during the quarter ended March 31, 2007."
Does this mean you can purchase shares @ this level from tomorrow until May 13th, or is it just sold tomorrow...for the public
From today you can put in a bid for what price and how many shares you are prepared to buy. At the end of the bidding the shares are sold to the highest bidders, at not more than the lowest succesful bidder's price.
The auction goes on *theoretically* until May 3rd 2007. But due to the nature of a Dutch auction, it can be all over much, much sooner. Basically as soon as all 20 million shares are spoken for. When that happens, a clearing price is applied. And those who bid have to purchase the IPO shares.