Do Thomas Weisel's Earnings Show Signs of Life for Tech Deals?

As expected, Thomas Weisel Partners Group (Nasdaq: TWPG) had a difficult Q1, posting a net loss of $23.9 million, or $0.74 per share, on revenues of $43.1 million. But the company was able to maintain strong capital levels (about $90.6 million in the bank).

To diversify its platform, Thomas Weisel purchased Westwind Partners. The deal has expanded deal-making into the energy and metals/mining sectors. All in all, it was a key move (allowing for some much-needed revenues).

Another positive factor has been the rally in the equities markets in March and April. The upshot has been a pick up in secondary offerings as well as M&A, as seen with deals from Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL). In fact, as seen with offerings from ChangYou (Nasdaq: CYOU) and Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST), it looks like investors are getting interested in IPOs.

True, it’s still too early to tell – but at least there is some good news for tech investment bankers.