Two Mass. companies expected to go public next week

By Michael B. Farrell, Globe Staff

Burlington software maker Exa Corp. and Waltham biotech firm Tesaro Inc. are both expected to make their Wall Street debuts next week.

The 21-year-old Exa, which makes software used to test vehicle aerodynamics, will offer shares to the public at prices between $11 and $13, according to a filing earlier this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its initial public offering on the Nasdaq exchange could raise $75 million.

Tesaro is also expected to open on the Nasdaq and raise $81 million. The two-year-old biotech company will price shares between $12 to $15, according to its filing.

The two companies could be among the first initial offerings on the Nasdaq since Facebook Inc. went public in May, according to Renaissance Capital, a Greenwich, Conn., investment advisory firm.

Facebook has traded well below its initial offering price of $38 since its May 18 market opening, a disappointing performance that had a chilling effect on initial public offerings from other companies, according to financial analysts. An offering from Kayak Software Corp., the online travel site based in Concord and in Norwalk, Conn., was again delayed following Facebook’s weak showing.

In the past two weeks, however, Facebook’s share prices have been rising. The social network closed Friday at $33.05, up 3.8 percent.

Exa Corp. reported $45.9 million in revenue for its 2012 fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, a 21 percent increase over the same period last year. The company’s stock symbol will be EXA.

Tesaro does not have revenues to date, and is developing drugs intended to reduce cancer treatment side effects. It’s stock symbol will be TSRO.