Xoom Corp (NASDAQ:XOOM) is a provider of money-transfer services, with an expanding customer base. It is available through walmart.com and is aiming to perfect its mobile offering. The company posted breakeven ($0.00 a share) results in the March period.
Xoom Corp (NASDAQ:XOOM), like many newly-minted public companies, has been active in the secondary market, and its share count was recently around 30 million, a factor limiting early share price gains.
The company may be included in the same conversation as other payment service providers, such as EBay’s Paypal, Intuit, Fiserv, and Global Payments; stocks I reviewed in a February blog.
XOOM may be more of a long-term bet while it expands and improves operations. Along with its mobile offering, XOOM is spending on product enhancements, including a way for customers to track their transfers electronically, and a “pay only when received” initiative. I believe investments in operations will drive profitability gains and allow for share-price upside over the long run.
Fairway Group, aiming to benefit from the healthy and organic food trend
Changing gears, the April IPO of supermarket chain Fairway Group Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FWM), at 13.7 million shares for $177.5 million, was just prior to the run-up of the stocks of fellow industry firms such as Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) and The Fresh Market.
The New York-based Fairway Group Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FWM) operated 12 locations at the end of March, offering primarily fresh, natural, and organic foods. Several of these include wine and spirits stores.
Supermarkets are typically low-risk investments that provide shareholder value by way of dividends. Those that offer lines of healthy edible offerings have been investor favorites for some time now. Fairway may find its niche within this subsector.
Fairway Group Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FWM) shares, recently trading at $23.91, up from the IPO price of $13, could be a good holding for those willing to endure near-term volatility. It may provide long-term investment value as a supermarket with expanding operations. In fact, it may eventually grow its store base to as many as 300, including 90 in the Northeast region (New England to D.C.). While it expands, Fairway will aim to capitalize on consumer trends such as healthy eating, while also targeting operating margin improvements through infrastructure investments, including the construction of a central production facility.
The article My Favorite IPOs of 2013 originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Damon Churchwell.
Damon Churchwell owns shares of The ExOne Company and XOOM. The Motley Fool recommends The ExOne Company. Damon is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
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