E-Commerce Stock Watch: RoweCom IPO Takes Off

Shares of RoweCom (Nasdaq: ROWE), which provides e-commerce solutions that help businesses manage online purchases of magazines, newspapers and books, closed up 53 percent on the stock's first day of trading. The initial public offering was priced at $16 (US$). The stock more than doubled when it opened, changing hands at 35-5/8 before closing at 24-1/4.

Rowe caters to a wide variety of clients from technology companies to universities. Rowe's clients include BASF, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Arthur Andersen, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and John Hopkins University.