ArcSight Takes First-Day Tumble

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of ArcSight Inc. stumbled in their market debut Thursday, a general down day for the market, after the software company's initial public offering priced at the low end of the expected price range.

Shares lost 68 cents, or 7.7 percent, to $8.32 in afternoon trading. Shares hit a low of $8.07 earlier in the session and have yet to trade above the $9 offering price.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company had expected the offering of 6.86 million shares to price between $9 and $11 per share, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

ArcSight offered 6 million shares, while a group of stockholders sold 861,919 shares.

Based on the offering price, ArcSight raised about $54 million, before fees and expenses, and now has a market capitalization of about $278.5 million.

The company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital and potential acquisitions.

ArcSight makes security and compliance software. As of Oct. 31, the company had sold its products to more than 400 customers across a number of industries and government agencies in the U.S. and internationally, including several blue-chip companies.

Despite a less-than-welcoming market, analysts had pinned ArcSight as the most promising of this week's IPOs.

“Data security to an entity is a critical component of any IT department,” wrote Scott Sweet, managing director of research firm IPO Boutique, in an e-mail to The Associated Press earlier this week. “ArcSight is a very interesting and timely IPO regardless of the market environment.”

Shares are trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “ARST.”