IPO Market Under Fire: Seven deals open below issue in turbulent week

Fourteen IPOs came to market and seven opened below issue marking one of the worst single-week performances for IPOs in recent memory.

What caused the underperformance is difficult to decipher as many deals that came to market had strong subscription levels prior to debuting. It is possible that stretched valuations had major capital markets players press the pause button. It also could be the underperformance of the week’s largest secondary offering, Viacom CBS (VIAC), which potentially had reverberating effects onto the IPO market.

Viacom priced a $1.85b secondary and $1b preferred offering on Wednesday morning. The common, which priced at $85, finished the week at $48.23 and reportedly resulted in the liquidation of at least one major fund.

As for the IPO market, the major winners on the week were biotech.

Design Therapeutics Inc (DSGN) priced a full-size deal, 12.0mm shares, at the high-end of the range, $20.00, and opened at $28.00 for a gain of 40.0% at first trade. The stock ripped into Friday’s close and finished the week at $41.49 for a finish of 107.5% versus issue.

Ikena Oncology, Inc. (IKNA) priced a full-size deal, 7.8mm shares, at the midpoint of the range, $16.00, and opened Friday at $22.40 for a gain of 40.0% at first trade. IKNA finished the week at $32.00 for a ‘double’ on the day.

Edgewise Therapeutics Inc (EWTX) priced 11.0mm shares (upsized from 10.0mm) at the high-end of the range, $16.00, and opened at $27.00 for a gain of 68.8% at first trade and closed Friday at $30.00 for a finish of +87.5%.

Olink Holding AB (OLK) priced a full-size deal, 17.6mm shares, at $20.00 ($2 Above the $16-$18 Range) and opened at $30.10 for a gain of 50.5% at first trade. OLK, which debuted on Thursday, finished the week at $32.20 or 61.0% above issue.

Other winners at first trade from the week included ACV Auctions (ACVA), ThredUp Inc (TDUP) and Alignment Healthcare Inc (ALHC) with gains of 28%, 30% and 6% at first trade, respectively.

As for the losers of the week, the most disappointing outcome was DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) which priced a full-size deal at the high-end of the range, $47.00, and opening at $41.50 for a loss of 11.7% at first trade. DOCN traded as high as $45.16 before closing the week at $41.63.

Other losers at first trade included SEMrush Holdings (SEMR), Zhihu Inc (ZH), Lava Therapeutics (LVTX), Diversey Holdings (DSEY), Cricut Inc (CRCT) and Vizio Holdings (VZIO). It should be noted that Vizio Holdings did trade well above the $21.00 issue price but closed at $20.75 on Friday.

One IPO scheduled to debut, Leonardo DRS Inc (DRS), was postponed “due to market conditions”. There is no further information available at this time.

Looking ahead to this week, there are currently seven IPOs scheduled to debut this week.

Wednesday (3/31) Debut

Achilles Therapeutics plc (ACHL) — They are a clinical stage immuno-oncology biopharmaceutical company developing precision T cell therapies to treat multiple types of solid tumors.
Coursera, Inc. (COUR) — They have built a global platform connecting learners, educators, and institutions, providing world-class educational content that is affordable, accessible, and relevant.
Karooooo Ltd. (KARO) [Cartrack] — Cartrack is a leading global provider of real-time mobility data analytics solutions for smart transportation.

Thursday (4/1) Debut

Compass, Inc. (COMP) — They have built a global platform connecting learners, educators, and institutions, providing world-class educational content that is affordable, accessible, and relevant.
Frontier Group Holdings (CRNT) — Frontier Airlines is an ultra low-cost carrier whose business strategy is focused on Low Fares Done Right®.
Intermedia Cloud Communications, Inc. (INTM) — They provide a leading, proprietary cloud-based communications and collaboration platform, purpose-built for their extensive and expanding network of more than 7,000 channel partners and used by a growing base of over 122,000 business customers as of December 31, 2020.
Kaltura Inc (KLTR) — Their Video Experience Cloud offers live, real-time, and on-demand video products including Video Portal, Town Halls, Video Messaging, Webinars, Virtual Events and Meetings.

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IPO Market Under Fire: Seven deals open below issue in turbulent week