Investing

IPO News This Week: 5 Firms Seeking $1.7 Billion in New Capital

Paul Ausick

Published: October 21, 2018 9:23 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 4:07 pm

Last week’s initial public offering (IPO) action saw seven companies launch successful offerings that raised $1.1 billion in new capital–not bad for a volatile week in the equities markets. One additional IPO for a blank-check company was also completed. A total of five IPOs, including one blank-check company, are scheduled to launch in the coming week seeking a total of $1.6 billion in new capital.

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

SI-BONE Inc. (NASDAQ: SIBN) raised $108 million in an upsized offering of 7.2 million shares priced at $15, the high end of the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 34% and closed the week up 36%.

Studio City International Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: MSC) raised $359 million selling 28.8 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at $12.50, the high end of the expected range. ADSes got a first-day pop of 24% and closed the week up 33%.

Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ: OSMT) raised $47 million in a down-sized offering of 6.7 million shares priced at $7, far below the expected range of $14 to $16. Shares got a first-day pop of 16% and closed the week up 29%.

LogicBio Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: LOGC) raised $70 million in an upsized offering of 7 million shares priced at $10, below the expected range of $12 to $14. Shares got a first-day pop of 15% on the Friday IPO.

SolarWinds Corp. (NYSE: SWI) raised $375 million in a down-sized offering of 25 million shares priced at $15, below the initial expected range of $17 to $19. Shares closed flat on Friday.

PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: PHAS) raised $46 million in an upsized offering of 9.2 million shares priced at $5, well below the initial expected range of $12 to $14. Shares closed flat Friday.

Graf Industrial Corp. (NYSE: GRAF.U), a blank-check company, raised $225 million selling 22.5 million units at $10. Units closed the week flat.

Niu Technologies (NASDAQ: NIU) raised $63 million in a down-sized offering of 7 million ADSes priced at $9, the low end of the expected range. Shares closed the week down 4%.

Through the week ending October 19, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 172 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, up 47% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $42.7 billion, up about 54% 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.

Alberton Acquisition Corp. is a Hong Kong-based blank-check company. The firm plans to offer 10 million units priced at $10 to raise $100 million at a market cap of $128 million. Sole underwriter for the offering is Chardan Capital Markets. Units are expected to begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ALACU.

Alzheon Inc. is a phase 3 biotechnology firm developing small molecule therapies to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The company plans to offer 2.5 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $35 million at a market cap of $196 million. Underwriters are ThinkEquity, H.C. Wainwright, and The Benchmark Company. Shares are expected to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ALZH.

YETI Holdings Inc. designs and sells premium branded outdoor equipment. The company plans to offer 20 million shares in an expected price range of $19 to $21 to raise $400 million at a market cap of $1.75 billion. Underwriters include BofA/Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Baird, Piper Jaffray, Citi, Goldman Sachs, KeyBanc Capital Markets, William Blair, Raymond James, Stifel, and Academy Securities. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol YETI.

Gamida Cell Ltd. is an Israel-based phase 3 biotechnology firm developing cell therapies for hematologic malignancies. The company plans to offer 3.57 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $50 million at a market cap of $300 million. Underwriters are BMO Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets, Needham & Co., and Oppenheimer & Co. Shares are expected to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol GMDA.

StoneCo Ltd. is a Brazil-based payment processing firm that provides services to small and medium-sized businesses in Brazil. The company plans to offer 47.7 million shares in an expected price range of $21 to $23 to raise $1.05 billion at a market cap of $6.03 billion. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citi, Itau BBA, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, BofA/Merrill Lynch, and BTG Pactual. Shares are expected to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol STNE.

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