Investors submit indications of interest: how many shares they want and, often, the highest price they will pay. The bookrunner assembles these into a demand curve and decides where to price, usually leaving something on the table so the stock trades up on day one.
Coverage language leaks and moves pre-market sentiment. "Multiple times covered" means orders far exceed shares available and the range is likely to be raised; "struggling at the low end" usually precedes a price cut or a pulled deal.
Example: a deal offers 15M shares in a $17 to $19 range. The book collects orders for 90M shares at $19, six times covered. The range is raised to $21 to $23 and it prices at $23.
Related: ipo, underwriter, ipo-price-range, ipo-allocation, roadshow