Ticker Talk

San Diego-based biotech company Sequenom Inc. (SQNM) priced 5.25 million shares Monday at $26, above the expected range of $23 to $25, raising $136.5 million. The shares will begin trading today on Nasdaq. Sequenom, whose products to analyze genes are used in clinical trials and to develop drugs, sold 250,000 more shares than expected. Though the high pricing is a positive sign, it’s becoming almost standard: 48% of companies raised more money than planned in 1999 by pricing their IPOs above the expected range, and 15% sold below that spread, according to a new study by Jay Ritter of the University of Florida. . . . A-55 Inc. of Reno, which has developed a fuel made from water and oil byproducts, is revving up the $115-million IPO it put off last year. Investors are betting that auto makers and power companies will turn to new power sources in the next few years to meet increasingly stringent environmental standards. Shares of fuel-cell developer Plug Power Inc. (PLUG) have risen more than fivefold since it went public in October, and utilities such as Avista Corp. (AVA) plan to sell part of their fuel-cell divisions to the public. . . . Apparently, nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee Corp. (SLE) except investors, so the Chicago-based company said it will buy back as many as 50 million of its shares, now near three-year lows. The buyback could represent about 5.7% of the food and undergarments company’s stock and cost about $900 million at recent prices. On Monday, Sara Lee rose 25 cents to close at $18.44 on the New York Stock Exchange. Another company whose shares are out of fashion, Jones Apparel Group Inc. (JNY), said it will buy back as much as $200 million of its stock. Shares of the Bristol, Pa.-based women’s clothing company, whose brands include Jones New York, Nine West and Rena Rowan, are down 30% in the last year. The buyback would represent as much as 7.6% of outstanding shares. The stock rose 56 cents to $22, also on the NYSE. . . . Rocketing InfoSpace.com Inc. (INSP) plans its third 2-for-1 stock split since last May. No record date was set, but the Redmond, Wash.-based company expects the split around mid-March. InfoSpace.com offers phone directories, real-time stock quotes and other information to Internet hubs. Its shares, which slid $11.63 to $140.13 on Monday, have surged ninefold in the last year.