Etsy set for debut, Aduro Biotech doubles

The highly popular online marketplace for crafts, Etsy, will be going public today. The deal priced at the high end of the range–$16.00.

What has been interesting to watch is the tussle between Wall Street and Main Street during the course of this roadshow.  We documented Etsy’s status as a B-Corp and what exactly that means in a past post.  Apparently, the answer to the question of how Wall Street perceives this company gave Etsy the green-light to shut many people out of the book completely.

According to our sources, 20 institutions got 90% of the book and many large players were given nothing.

This is likely the product of the company’s CFO, Kristina Salen, who’s resume includes time as a portfolio manager at Fidelity.

The debate over Etsy, however, only begins as the company is set to debut on the Nasdaq today. As pointed out in this tweet by Leslie Picker of Bloomberg, Etsy trades at 9 times 2014 sales as compared to drastically lower multiples from comps Amazon, Ebay & Zulily. Its almost a certainty that there will be a high percentage of the float short in this stock within days of it going public.

Interesting to note, Etsy emailed out a note to its client base this morning about going public.

We will reach an important milestone for our company and community today as we make an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange. During the past two weeks, I’ve traveled to cities both big and small around the United States to share our story with potential investors. During those presentations, I emphasized that our business model is based on the idea of shared success: our company is successful when you, our sellers, are successful. Thank you for your support and dedication in helping us reimagine commerce.

Today, we celebrate our worldwide community of sellers. Starting at 8 a.m. eastern time, Etsy sellers from around the world will participate in an Etsy Market in New York City’s Times Square, just outside the Nasdaq building. We are also honored to say that Etsy sellers will be standing side by side with our chief financial officer, Kristina Salen, and me during our Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony. Naturally, we’ll be ringing handmade and vintage bells purchased from Etsy shops during the ceremony.

Even if you're not in Times Square today, we encourage you to join our celebration. Please visit the Seller Handbook blog to get more information on the festivities and how you can join us – no matter where you are in the world. Throughout the day, we will be celebrating you and reflecting on our shared journey toward reimagining commerce over the past 10 years. We’re excited to start the next leg of that journey with you today.

Another Biotech Bonanza

Aduro Biotech’s (Nasdaq: ADRO) debut was nothing short of a home run on Wednesday. The deal opened 88% higher than the $17.00 offering price and closed at its high of the day, $42.00, for an amazing 147% gain on day one. It was the best first-day gainer since Castlight Health (Nasdaq: CSLT) ran up 149% in early 2014. Aduro Biotech takes the title for best IPO performer out of the gate in 2015 toppling the performances of Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK) and Spark Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ONCE).

The stock traded 6.90 million shares which is just near the 7 million share float that was priced on Tuesday