IPO Bonanza: Mega gains for tech giants in historic week

It was quite possibly the single greatest IPO week since IPO Boutique has been around (more than 16 years). The combination of performance…and performance from extremely large cash raises allowed syndicate investors to comprehensively fill their pockets. 

The two headliners, Airbnb Inc (ABNB) and DoorDash (DASH), came out with astronomical gains. On Wednesday, DoorDash priced a full-size deal, 33.0mm shares, at $102.00 (above the upwardly-revised range) and opened at $182.00 for a gain of 78.4% at first trade. DASH traded as high as $195.50 in its first session before retreating on Thursday and Friday. 

As for Airbnb Inc (ABNB), that offering priced 51.6mm shares at $68.00 (above the upwardly-revised range) and opened at $146.00 for a gain of 114.7% at first trade. Airbnb’s 113% rise yesterday was the second-best IPO debut for a U.S. company with a $1 billion+ common stock IPO since 2001. (h/t @callieabost)

While ABNB and DASH received numerous headlines, the best performing IPOs at first trade were, in-fact, two other deals.

C3.Ai Inc (AI) priced a full-size deal of 15.5mm shares at $42.00 and opened at $100 for a gain of 138.1% at first trade. AI closed its opening session at $92.49, however, traded extremely well on day-two and day-three and hit a high of $133.00 for the week. IPO Boutique rated this offering as a ‘5’ which was just the sixth ‘5’ of the year but 11th since 2005.  

Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc. (HYFM) priced a full-size deal, 8.7mm shares, at $20.00 and opened at $46.00 for a gain of 130% at first trade. The stock rallied late in its opening session and closed the day at $51.99 or 160% above the issue price. 

PubMatic, Inc. (PUBM) enjoyed a solid debut by pricing 5.9mm shares at $20.00 ($2 above the $16-$18 range) and opening at $25.12 for a gain of 25.6%. PUBM traded well out of the gates, hitting a high of $33.16, before retreating in its second and third sessions. 

Healthcare offerings that came to market on Friday all outperformed which followed the “theme” of the week.

AbCellera Biologics Inc (ABCL) priced 24.2mm shares (upsized from 23.0mm) at $20.00 ($2.00 above the upwardly-revised range) and opened at $61.00 for a gain of 205.0% at first trade. ABCL halted on volatility in the first few minutes of trading after touching $71.91. The stock eventually retreated back toward the $60.00 level at the time of this writing. 

4D Molecular Therapeutics (FDMT) priced its offering at $23.00 and opened at $40.00 for a gain of 73.9% at first trade.

Certara Inc (CERT) priced 29.05mm shares (upsized from 24.4mm) at $23.00 ($1.00 above the range) and opened at $29.90 for a gain of 30.0% at first trade. CERT traded well in its first trading session as the stock touched $37.53 for a gain of 63.1% at top-tick.

A company that currently trades on the Euronext Paris, Nanobiotix S.A. (NBTX), priced 7.3mm ADSs (upsized from 6.5 million) at $13.50 and opened at $18.15 for a gain of 34.4% at first trade.

Vivos Therapeutics Inc. (VVOS) priced a full-size deal, 3.33mm shares, at the midpoint of the range, $6.00, and  opened at $7.07 for a gain of 17.8% at first trade. This microcap biotech traded wildly in its opening session and hit a high of $14.41 for a gain of 140.1% at its peak. 

Looking ahead to this week, there are three deals currently on the schedule — all debuting on Wednesday (12/16).

ContextLogic Inc (WISH) —  They bring an affordable and entertaining mobile shopping experience to billions of consumers around the world.

Upstart Holdings, Inc (UPST) —  They are a leading, cloud-based artificial intelligence lending platform. 

Bioatla Inc (BCAB) —   They are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing our novel class of highly specific and selective antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumor cancer. 

There is a possibility that a trio of other deals can launch which could include Roblox Corporation, Affirm Holdings and 908 Devices Inc.

The current pipeline as of 12/11/20 and at the time of this writing is 15 and is in need of a January refresh.

Good luck trading!