IPO News This Week: 10 More Firms Seek Combined Total of $2 Billion

November 5, 2017 by Paul Ausick

There were nine initial public offerings (IPOs) on the calendar last week and all nine succeeded in gaining access to the public markets. The total amount raised a combined $2.1 billion and the average first-day pop was around slightly negative and ranged from up 41% to down 41%..

There are 10 IPOs on the coming week’s calendar and they are looking to raise a combined total of about $2 billion. This shapes up as the busiest week this year for IPOs with more filings also expected as companies aim to get into the public markets before Thanksgiving.

Here’s a recap of last week’s IPOs:

Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTR) raised $156 million on the sale of 12 million shares at $13, the high end of the expected range. Shares popped 41% on the IPO and closed the week up 49%.

Loma Negra Corp. (NYSE: LOMA) raised $840 million on the sale of 53.5 million American depositary shares (ADS) at $19 per ADS. Shares popped 12% on the first day of trading and closed the week up 13%.

Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. (NYSE: AQUA) sold 27.8 million at $18, the midpoint of the expected range, raising $500 million. Shares popped 16% on the IPO and closed the week up 13%.

ACM Research Inc. (NASDAQ: ACMR) raised $11 million on the sale of 2 million shares priced at $5.60, below the expected range. Shares popped 8% on the Friday IPO.

Aquantia Corp. (NYSE: AQ) raised $61 million on the sale of 6.8 million shares at a below-range price of $9 per share. Shares popped 6% on the Friday IPO.

Sentinel Energy Services (NASDAQ: STNLU), a blank-check company, raised $300 million on the sale of 30 million units at $10 per unit. Shares added 1% on the Friday IPO.

Spero Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRO) raised $77 million on an upsized offering of 5.5 million shares at $14, the low end of the expected range. Shares dropped 18% on the IPO and closed the week down 17%.

Allena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNA) raised $75 million on the sale of 5.3 million shares at $14, the low end of the expected range. Shares plunged 29% on the IPO and closed the week down 30%.

Funko Inc. (NASDAQ: FNKO) raised $125 million on its down-sized offering of 10.4 million shares prices at $12, below the expected range. Shares plummeted 41% on the IPO and closed the week down 42%

Through the week ending November 3, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 131 IPOs have priced in the United States so far this year, up nearly 37% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $31.7 billion, up 88% 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.

Here are the 10 companies seeking a place in the public markets next week.

CBTX is a bank holding operating as Community Bank of Texas in Houston and Beaumont. The company plans to offer 2.4 million shares in an expected price range of $24 to $26 to raise $60 million at a market cap of $617 million. Underwriters are Stephens, Keefe Bruyette Woods and Sandler O’Neill. Shares are expected to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol CBTX.

Fireman is a Germany-based Dutch company developing an inflammatory mediator to treat a variety of autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases. The company plans to offer 6.7 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $100 million at a market cap of $351 million. Underwriters are JPMorgan, Leerink Partners and BMO Capital Markets. Shares are expected to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol IFRX.

Four Seasons Education (Cayman) is a Shanghai-based provider of math education. The company plans to offer 10.1 million shares in an expected price range of $9 to $11 to raise $101 million at a market cap of $476 million. Underwriters are Morgan Stanley, Citi and China Renaissance. Shares are expected to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FEDU.

Metropolitan Bank Holding is a Manhattan-based commercial bank. The company plans to offer 3.1 million shares in an expected price range of $31 to $34 to raise $101 million at a market cap of $251 million. Underwriters are JPMorgan, Keefe Bruyette Woods and Piper Jaffray. Shares are expected to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MCB.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm developing treatments to control complement-dependent autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company plans to offer 10.7 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $150 million at a market cap of $690 million. Underwriters are Citi, JPMorgan and Evercore ISI. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol APLS.

Sogou is a Beijing-based search engine provider for the Chinese market. The company plans to offer 45 million shares in an expected range of $11 to $13 to raise $540 million at a market cap of $4.7 billion. Underwriters are JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs (Asia), CICC and China Renaissance. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SOGO.

Bandwidth is a communications-as-a-platform provider of voice-over-IP (VoIP) solutions for enterprise customers. The company plans to offer 4 million shares in an expected price range of $20 to $22 to raise $84 million at a market cap of $285 million. Underwriters are Morgan Stanley, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Baird, Canaccord Genuity and JMP Securities. Shares are scheduled to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BAND.

PPDAI Group is a Shanghai-based online consumer finance marketplace. The company plans to offer 17 million shares in an expected price range of $16 to $19 to raise $298 million at a market cap of $2.93 billion. Underwriters are Credit Suisse, Citi and Keefe Bruyette Woods. Shares are scheduled to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PPDF.

Workspace Property Trust is a REIT that buys, owns and operates office and flex real estate in the United States. The company plans to offer 39 million shares in an expected price range of $12 to $15 to raise $527 million at a market cap of $1.04 billion. Underwriters are Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Barclays, Citi, BMO Capital Markets, Capital One Securities and JMP Securities. Shares are expected to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WSPT.

AMERI Holdings provides outsourced IT services. The offering is an uplisting from the OTCQB to the Nasdaq CM and is expected to price 1.2 million shares at $6.51 to raise $8 million at a market cap of $111 million. Underwriters are Northland Capital Markets and Barrington Research. Shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AMRH when the offer is completed.

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