Small deals make up the IPO Calendar for this short holiday week, which began with Presidents Day. The U.S. stock market was closed Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, for the federal holiday. Most IPO investors are keeping an eye out for news about potential big deals on the horizon such as Reddit, which has not filed its S-1 yet. Bloomberg reported on Friday (Feb. 16, 2024) that Reddit, the popular social media platform, has signed an AI content licensing deal as it gets ready for its IPO, “which could launch as soon as next month.”
When Wall Street gets back to work on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the IPO market will face a light roster of just four deals with pricing dates and another five deals expected to price sometime during “the week of Feb. 20, 2024.” Those nine deals include a NASDAQ uplisting, a SPAC IPO and a couple of tiny unit IPOs. Many names are carry-overs from the last week or so.
Small deals moved back into the spotlight last week. That marked a dramatic switch from the first week of February, when bankers raised $2.02 billion by pricing eight IPOs – the busiest IPO week in about two years. But the IPO climate was chilled that week by the postponement of a big IPO by specialty P&C insurer The Fortegra Group (TFG proposed) and the flop of preclinical biotech Metagenomi Inc.’s (MGX) small IPO.
Hotter-than-expected January inflation data shocked Wall Street during the week of Feb. 12, 2024, pouring cold water on hopes for a March rate cut and triggering a big sell-off in the U.S. stock market. That made the IPO waters even colder and rougher in a Valentine’s Week that was anything but sweet for IPO investors.
Just two tiny deals were priced last week, raising a combined $11.6 million: Unusual Machines (UMAC), an FPV (First-Person-View) drone goggles company, priced 1.25 million shares at $4.00 (low end) to raise $5 million, and Chromocell Therapeutics (CHRO), a Phase 1/2a clinical biotech developing a pain-relief drug, priced 1.1 million shares at $6.00 (mid-point) to raise $6.6 million. Dominari Securities, R.F. Lafferty & Co. and Revere Securities were the joint book-runners of Unusual Machines’ IPO. A.G.P. (Alliance Global Partners) served as the sole book-runner of Chromocell Therapeutics’ IPO.
Both UMAC and CHRO opened flat, only to slip and close below their IPO prices on the NYSE – American Exchange on their respective first days of trading: Wednesday, Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, for Unusual Machines, and Friday, Feb. 16, for Chromocell Therapeutics.
Light Week with An Asian Connection
Bankers expect to raise $130.5 million this week if all nine deals on the IPO Calendar get priced. Experienced IPO investors know, however, that pricing dates for small deals can be fluid, depending upon final regulatory clearance and other factors.
The Asian connection is strong this week. Companies with their roots in Singapore, China and Japan are in the mix. Let’s take a look at these deals, organized by pricing dates.
Expected to Price Tuesday Night to Trade Wednesday:
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RYDE Group, Ltd. (RYDE Proposed) – This Singapore-based carpooling, ride-hailing and package-delivery app plans to offer 3.0 million shares at $4.00 to $5.00 to raise $13.5 million. Maxim Group is the sole book-runner. This is an NYSE – American Exchange listing.
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Wetouch Technology (WETH Proposed) – The Nevada-incorporated parent company of a Chinese manufacturer of large-format touchscreens is planning a public offering in connection with the uplisting of its stock to the NASDAQ from the OTCQB market. This is a public offering of 3.0 million shares at $5.00 to $7.00 to raise $18.0 million. WestPark Capital, Craft Capital, R.F. Lafferty & Co. and Orientert are the joint book-runners.
Expected to Price Wednesday Night to Trade Thursday:
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NYIAX (NYX Proposed) – This New York-based advertising technology company, which developed its platform for media buyers and sellers under a patent jointly held with a NASDAQ subsidiary, plans to offer 2.1 million shares at $4.00 to raise $8.4 million. WestPark Capital and EF Hutton are the joint book-runners.
Expected to Price Thursday Night to Trade Friday:
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Metros Development (MTRS Proposed) – This Tokyo-based real estate consulting company plans to offer 1.0 million shares at $6.40 to raise $6.4 million. Note: The prospectus still shows a price range of $8.00 to $9.00. Metros Development identifies and buys underdeveloped properties (land and/or buildings) and resells those properties to real estate developers. Boustead Securities and EF Hutton are the joint book-runners.
To check out the other five IPOs with tentative pricing dates listed as “the week of Feb. 20, 2024,” please see the IPO Calendar. This lineup includes DT Cloud Acquisition Corp. (DYCQU Proposed), a London-based SPAC that intends to raise $60 million, and Massimo Group (MAMO Proposed), a Dallas, Texas-based manufacturer and distributor of pontoon boats and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), which plans to raise $5.9 million. Massimo’s IPO is a carry-over from last week.
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.