Analysis - Alibaba investors face lock-up battered but largely unbowed

By Jessica Toonkel NEW YORK (Reuters) - As Alibaba was preparing to sell shares to U.S. investors for the first time, Jerry Verseput tried to persuade his clients not to throw money at the giant China-based e-commerce company because he thinks IPOs are a gamble, especially those with a lot of hype. For the two clients that insisted on buying stock, Verseput made sure they only invested less than one percent of their assets in the IPO. Alibaba opened on Sept. 19 at $92.70, ended its first day at