Investing

IPO News This Week: 5 Firms Seeking $1.06 Billion in New Capital

Paul Ausick

Published: October 7, 2018 9:28 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 4:47 pm

Last week’s initial public offering (IPO) action saw eight companies launch successful offerings that raised $1.57 billion in new capital. Half of the IPOs were completed by blank-check companies. A total of five IPOs are scheduled to launch in the coming week seeking a total of $1.06 billion in new capital.

Here’s a brief rundown of last week’s IPOs.

Elastic NV (NYSE: ESTC) raised $252 million by selling 7 million shares priced at $36, above the high end of the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 94% on the Friday IPO.

Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ: GH) raised $238 million selling 12.5 million shares priced at $19, above the high end of the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 69% and closed the week up 54%.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ: UPWK) raised $187 million in an upsized offering of 12.5 million shares priced at $15, above the high end of the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 41% and closed the week up 40%.

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ: KOD) raised $90 million selling 9 million shares at $10, well below the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 2% and closed the week up 4%.

ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: ARYAU) raised $125 million by selling 12.5 million units at $10. Units got a first-day pop of 2% on the Friday IPO.

Collier Creek Holdings (NYSE: CCH.U) raised $400 million by selling 40 million units at $10. Units got a 2% pop on the Friday IPO.

EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: EDTXU) raised $55 million selling 5.5 million units at $10. Units closed the week flat.

ChaSerg Tech Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: CTAC.U) raised $200 million selling 20 million units at $10. Units closed the week flat.

Through the week ending October 5, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 161 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, up 49% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $40.6 billion, up about 61% 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 five IPOs that will test the public markets in the coming week.

Allogene Therapeutics Inc. is a phase 1 biotechnology firm developing off-the-shelf CAR T Cell cancer therapies. The firm plans to offer 16 million shares in an expected price range of $16 to $18 to raise $272 million at a market cap of $2.07 billion. Underwriters are Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Cowen, and Jefferies. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ALLO.

Livent Corp., a lithium compound producer, is spinning out of FMC Corp. The company plans to offer 20 million shares in an expected price range of $18 to $20 to raise $380 million at a market cap of $2.74 billion. Underwriters include BofA/Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Citi, Loop Capital Markets, and Nomura Securities. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LTHM.

Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc develops and sells extended-release neurology and women’s health drugs. The company plans to offer 8.3 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $125 million at a market cap of $767 million. Underwriters are Jefferies, Barclays, RBC Capital Markets, and Wells Fargo Securities. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol OSMT.

Anaplan Inc. makes and sells cloud-based software for financial and operations planning. The company plans to offer 15.5 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $217 million at a market cap of $2.02 billion. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Canaccord Genuity, Evercore ISI, JMP Securities, Needham & Co., Piper Jaffray, and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Shares are scheduled to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PLAN.

Equillium Inc. is a biotechnology firm developing therapies for graft-versus-host-disease and severe asthma. The company plans to offer 4.67 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $70 million at a market cap of $252 million. Underwriters are Jefferies, Leerink Partners, and Stifel. Shares are scheduled to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol EQ.

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