Convertibles quiet; Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Avid launch deals; Tesla paper unchanged

By Rebecca Melvin

New York, June 8 – Convertibles got off to a quiet start on Monday as equities traded weakly and Treasuries regained some ground after a sell-off last week fueled by expectations the Fed may begin raising rates before the end of the year.

“It’s really quiet; traders are off the desk,” a New York-based sellsider said regarding Monday’s trading session.

Two new deals launched in the primary market after the market close, however. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it plans to price $300 million of seven-year convertible senior notes with a $45 million greenshoe via joint bookrunners J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, and Avid Technology plans to price $115 million of five-year convertibles with a $15 million greenshoe that was being sold by bookrunner Jefferies & Co.

Ironwood has a market capitalization of almost $2 billion, and Avid has a market capitalization of about $705 million.

Frontier Communications Corp.’s new 11.125% mandatories, which debuted in the market on Friday, were mostly quiet on Monday as shares of the Stamford, Conn.-based wireline telecommunications provider added 6.5 cents to $5.03.

Tesla Motors Inc.’s convertibles were called unchanged against shares of the electric car maker that rose about 3%.

Tesla shares were upgraded on Monday, a trader noted. Robert W. Baird raised its price target on Tesla shares to $335.00 from $275.00, with a “buy” rating, citing improving investor sentiment.

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