IPO News This Week: Data Center Firm Switch Tops a Short List

October 1, 2017 by Paul Ausick

There were seven initial public offerings (IPOs) on the calendar last week and all but one succeeded in gaining access to the public markets. The total amount raised was $1.2 billion and the average first-day pop was nearly 32%.

Three IPO’s are on the coming week’s calendar and a fourth that did not make its IPO last week could try again. The three companies on the calendar are looking to raise a combined total of around $670 million.

Here’s a recap of last week’s IPOs:

Streaming video player maker Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) raised $219 million selling 15.7 million shares at $14, the top of the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 68% and closed the week up 90%.

RYB Education Inc. (NYSE: RYB) raised $144 million selling 7.8 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at $18.50, above the expected range. The stock got a first-day pop of 40% and closed the week up 54%.

Nightstar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: NITE) raised $75 selling 5.4 million ADSes at $14, the midpoint of the expected range. Shares popped 71.4% on the first day of trading and closed the week up 37%.

NuCana plc (NASDAQ: NCNA) raised $100 million selling 6.7 million ADSes at $15, the midpoint of the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 7.7% and closed the week up 22.5%.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DCPH) raised $128 million in an upsized offering of 7.5 million shares price at $17, the high end of the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 3.8% and closed the week up 11.7%.

PQ Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PQG) raised $508 million selling 29 million shares at $17.50, below the low end of the expected range. The Friday IPO closed down 1.4%.

Through the week ending September 22, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 106 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, up 41% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $24.6 billion, up 107% year over year.

For 2016, Renaissance Capital reported a total of 105 IPOs, down 38% year over year from 170 in 2015. Total 2016 proceeds amounted to $18.8 billion compared with a 2015 total of $30 billion. Renaissance Capital does not include “best efforts” or blank-check companies in its totals, nor does it include IPOs that raise less than $10 million.

The coming week’s scheduled IPOs start off with Black Ridge Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company seeking to acquire an upstream oil & gas company. The firm plans to offer 10 million units consisting of one share of common stock, one right, and one warrant to raise $100 million at an implied market cap of $128.5 million. Underwriters are EarlyBirdCapital, Chardan Capital Markets, and I-Bankers Securities. Units are expected to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BRACU.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biopharmaceutical firm developing and commercializing a treatment for rare genetic disorders of obesity. The company plans to offer 6.7 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $100 million at an implied market cap of $385.4 million. Underwriters are Morgan Stanley, BofA/Merrill Lynch, Cowen & Company, and Needham & Co. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol RYTM.

Switch Inc. provides colocation and connectivity services at hyperscale data centers. The company plans to offer 31.25 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $469 million at an implied market cap of $3.71 billion. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BMO Capital Markets, Wells Fargo Securities, Citi, Credit Suisse, Jefferies, BTIG, Raymond James, Stifel, and William Blair. Shares are expected to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SWCH.

The week’s possible returnee is Gadsden Growth Properties Inc., a REIT focused on acquiring, developing, and managing non-residential property in the U.S. Southwest. The company plans to offer 3.5 million shares in an expected price range of $9 to $11 to raise $35 million at an implied market cap of $58 million. Sole underwriter is National Securities Corp. Shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange – American under the ticker symbol GADS.

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