IPO News This Week: As August Heats Up, Offerings Cool Off
The hot IPO market of July has cooled off in August. Just 4 new companies successfully entered the public markets last week and only 2 are on the calendar for the coming week.
Last week’s initial public offering (IPO) action saw four of five scheduled listings make their entry into the public markets. The four IPOs raised a total of $307 million in new capital, as three of the four priced below the midpoint of their expected ranges. The coming week includes two small offerings seeking a total of $58 million, one a first-timer and one a holdover from last week.
First a brief review of last week’s successful IPOs.
Amalgamated Bank (NASDAQ: AMAL) raised $104 million selling 6.7 million shares at $15.50, near the low-end of the expected range of $15 to $17. Shares dropped 3% on their first trading day but ended the week up 6%.
Spartan Energy Acquisition (NYSE: SPAQU), a blank-check company, raised $480 million selling 48 million units at $10. Units closed the week up 1%.
Pacific City Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: PCB) raised $48 million in a downsized offering of 2.4 million shares at $20, the low end of the expected range. Shares dropped 5% on the first day of trading and closed the week flat.
Mesa Air Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MESA) raised $116 million in a downsized offering of 9.6 million shares priced at $12, well below the expected range of $14 to $16. Shares dropped 2% on the Thursday IPO, and that’s how they closed the week.
Vaccinex Inc. (NASDAQ: VCNX) raised $40 million selling 3.33 million shares at $12, the low end of the expected range. Shares dropped 5% on the Thursday IPO and closed the week down 4%.
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Through the week ending August 10, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 132 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, up about 44% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $34.4 billion, up about 55% year over year.
For 2017, Renaissance Capital reported a total of 160 IPOs, up 52% year over year from 105 in 2016. Total 2017 proceeds amounted to $35.5 billion compared with a 2016 total of $18.8 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 two IPOs on this week’s agenda.
Bionano Genomics Inc., a life sciences instrumentation maker selling a proprietary system for next-generation genome analysis, delayed its IPO from last week. The company plans to offer 5.5 million shares in an expected price range of $5 to $6 to raise $30 million at a market cap of $85 million. Underwriters are Roth Capital and Maxim Group LLC. Shares are listed only as “week of” and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BNGO.
Aridis Pharmaceuticals is a late-stage biopharmaceutical firm developing immunotherapies for antibiotic-resistant infections. The company plans to offer 2 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $28 million at a market cap of $111 million. Underwriters include Cantor Fitzgerald, Maxim Group LLC, Laidlaw & Co. (U.K.), Northland Securities, and The Seaport Group. Shares are expected to price Monday and begin trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ARDS.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
