The IPO Buzz: Light Traffic as Memorial Day Starts a Short Week

Memorial Day is traditionally linked to a slight pause in IPO traffic. Just three micro-cap IPOs are on the IPO Calendar for the week of May 29, 2023. The U.S. stock market will be closed Monday, May 29, for Memorial Day, the federal holiday honoring the men and women in the U.S. military who have died in service to their country. The long Memorial Day weekend also marks the unofficial start of summer.

The stage is set for a relief rally in global markets after President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) struck a debt-ceiling deal “in principle” on Saturday night, according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.  In Japan, stocks jumped 2 percent on news of the debt-ceiling deal. A House vote is expected as early as Wednesday, according to The WSJ, on the agreement to raise the borrowing limit for two years. U.S. stocks have been roiled in recent weeks by anxiety over whether the U.S. might not find a way to raise the debt ceiling to avoid default before the June 5 deadline.

The IPO Calendar is exceptionally light this week with only a trio of tiny deals on tap. Two of those micro-cap IPOs are carry-overs from recent weeks. Bankers aim to raise $25.8 million if all three deals get done.

That’s in sharp contrast to last week. Bankers raised $741.43 million during the week of May 22, 2023, by pricing three deals – the $275.43 million IPO of Atmus Filtration Technologies, Inc. (ATMU), a spinoff by diesel engine maker Cummins (CMI), as well as the $246 million secondary offering and NYSE listing of Canadian factory automation systems manufacturer, ATS Corp. (ATS), and the upsized SPAC IPO – $220 million – of Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. II (IPXXU).

Circle Wednesday

Most of this week’s small-cap IPO action will take place Wednesday night (May 31st), when two deals are set for pricing:

  • Azitra Inc. (AZTR proposed), a tiny dermatology biotech, plans to price its micro-cap IPO on Wednesday night (May 31, 2023) to trade Thursday, June 1, on the NYSE – American Exchange. ThinkEquity is the sole book-runner. Size: 2.4 million shares at $4.50 to $5.50 to raise $12.0 million. This deal is a carry-over from last week.
  • 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SXTP/ SXTPW proposed) also intends to price its micro-cap unit IPO on Wednesday night (May 31, 2023) to trade Thursday, June 1, on the NASDAQ. WallachBeth Capital is the sole book-runner. Size: 1.42 million units at $4.30 to $6.30 to raise $7.5 million. This is the new name on the IPO Calendar.

ALE Group Holding (ALEH proposed), the holding company of a Hong Kong-based financial reporting and advisory service, aims to price its micro-cap IPO sometime during the week of May 29, 2023. Prime Number Capital is the sole book-runner. Size: 1.25 million shares at $4.00 to $6.00 to raise $6.25 million. ALE Group’s small IPO is a carry-over from recent weeks.

Popping in the Pipeline

When Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava Group Inc. (CAVA proposed) filed to go public on May 19th, the news created some ripples of anticipation among IPO investors. The company, which is not profitable, owns and operates 263 restaurants in 22 states and Washington, D.C.

CAVA Group’s total revenue in fiscal 2022 was $564.1 million – up 12.8 percent from total revenue of $500.1 million in fiscal 2021, the prospectus says.

The Street will be watching for CAVA to file terms for its IPO. This is an NYSE listing.

More names could join the IPO Pipeline after Wall Street returns to work on Tuesday.

Stay tuned.

(For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profiles found on IPOScoop.com’s website.)

Note: Never trade on proposed symbols. They have been known to change and you might buy something on the OTC Bulletin Board. 

To see what time the NASDAQ IPOs are expected to trade, please log in to: NASDAQTrader.com then scroll down to IPO Message. 

Disclosure: Nobody on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned above, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The IPOScoop.com staff does not issue advice, recommendations or opinions.

Disclaimer: A SCOOP Rating (Wall Street Consensus of Opening-day Premiums) is a general consensus taken, at press time, from Wall Street and investment professionals concerning how well an IPO might perform when it starts trading. The SCOOP Rating does not reflect the opinions of anyone associated with IPOScoop.com. The SCOOP ratings should not be taken as investment advice. The rating merely reflects the opinion of the professionals at the time of publication and is subject to last-minute changes due to market conditions, changes in a specific offering and other factors, such as changes in the proposed offering terms and the shifting of investor interest in the IPO. The information offered is taken from sources we believe to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy.