Barron's : PayPal shares could rise 40%

PayPal shares could rise 40% as digital wallets proliferate, the Aug. 31 edition of Barron's declared, stating the company has loads of opportunities and cash to grow. Although the former eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) unit's shares have dropped since its recent spin-off, the "promise of PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) hasn't wavered." The firm is now clear to do deals with big vendors like Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) and move into back office operations and other services.

• Is PYPL a buy?

• 3 weeks later: NO

NantKwest (NK) : 1-month performance

Heikin-Ashi

Zulily (ZU) to be acquired by QVC owner for $2.4 billion

• Liberty Interactive -- the media company that owns shopping channel QVC -- announced it will acquire online retailer Zulily in a deal worth $2.4 billion. 
• Zulily (ZU) began trading on the NYSE on 15 November 2013

In a statement released Monday, Liberty says it will acquire all outstanding Zulily shares at $18.75 a piece, and attribute it to QVC Group's tracking stock. Shares of Zulily surged 49% in pre-market trading.

Founded in 2010 by President and CEO Darrell Cavens and board chairman Mark Vadon, Zulily is an e-commerce website specializing in selling discounted clothing and merchandise. The company went public in 2013, but its stock price has declined since hitting a 52-week peak of $39.10 last September.

In May, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it captured a 9% stake in Zulily.

Flash storage vendor Pure Storage files for a $300M IPO

Enterprise flash storage provider Pure Storage, backed by some $531 million in investment capital and toting a $3 billion valuation, has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO) later this year.

Pure Storage was founded in 2009 and has attracted a great deal of intrigue because of its combination of software and flash storage technology, which is reportedly faster and more efficient than older spinning disc drives.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs will act as lead book-running managers for the proposed offering. It competes with larger, established companies such as EMC Corp and NetApp Inc. Pure Storage, which didn’t indicate an exchange, plans to list under the ticker symbol PSTG.

Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) began trading on the Nasdaq on 12 Aug 2015

Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in discovering, developing and commercializing therapeutics to treat blood-based disorders. The Company is developing its initial product candidate, GBT440, as an oral, once-daily therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD).

• Sector: Healthcare
• Industry: Biotechnology
• Founded in 2011 
• Headquartered in South San Francisco, California
• http://www.gbt.com

GER — is it a buy?

• Aug. 12: Is GER a buy?

• 6 weeks later (Sept. 24): NO

Planet Fitness (PLNT) began trading on the NYSE on 6 August 2015

Sunrun (RUN) began trading on the NASDAQ on 5 August 2015

• Lynn Jurich and company cofounder, Edward Fenster, came up with the idea for Sunrun while in business school at Stanford University, and launched the company in 2007. Fenster was the first customer, installing solar panels on his Queen Anne house in San Francisco’s Mission District, where Sunrun had set up offices in one of the home’s turrets.
• Today Sunrun has more than 60,000 customers in 11 states.
• Sunrun’s business model is simple: The company pays to put up panels on customers’ homes, then sells the power generated back to them under a 20-year contract. By owning the solar generating systems, Sunrun is able to claim subsidies aimed at encouraging the development of renewable sources of power. The power often is sold to customers at prices below the electricity provided by utilities.  “On average, we’re saving customers about 20 percent on their monthly bill.”

Sunrun Inc. provides solar energy to homeowners. The Company, either directly or through one of its solar partners, installs a solar energy system on a customer's home and either sells the system to the homeowner or, as is more often the case, sells the energy generated by the system to the homeowner pursuant to a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA). The Company's core solar product offerings are provided through a lease or a power purchase agreement, which are substantially similar to one another. The Company provides solar service offerings through three channels: its direct-to-consumer channel; its solar partner channel that originates customers for its solar service offerings, procures and installs solar energy systems on its customers' homes on its behalf, and a growing set of strategic relationships with recognized non-solar brands. With its solar service offerings, the Company installs solar energy systems on its customers' homes and sells them the solar power.

Address

595 Market St Fl 29
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105-2842
United States

Website links  

http://www.sunrun.com/

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (ZYNE) began trading on the NASDAQ on 5 August 2015

Description

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on developing and commercializing synthetic cannabinoid therapeutics formulated for transdermal delivery. The Company has two product candidates, including ZYN002 and ZYN001, which represent cannabinoid therapeutics for several indications, including refractory epilepsy, Fragile X syndrome (FXS), osteoarthritis (OA), fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathic pain. ZYN002 is a synthetic cannabidiol (CBD) formulated as a permeation-enhanced gel for transdermal delivery. In preclinical animal studies, ZYN002's permeation enhancer increased delivery of CBD through the layers of the skin and into the circulatory system. ZYN001 is a pro-drug of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that enables transdermal delivery through a patch. In preclinical animal studies, ZYN001 demonstrated effective skin permeation with sustained delivery and rapid conversion of ZYN001 to THC.

Address

80 W. Lancaster Avenue,Suite 300
DEVON, PA 19333
United States 

Website 

http://zynerba.com/

Key stats and ratios

	Q1 (Mar '15)	2014
Net profit margin	-10060.49%	-699.94%
Operating margin	-10065.07%	-699.71%
EBITD margin	-	-696.37%
Return on average assets	-54.57%	-84.13%
Return on average equity	-	-
Employees	7

Amplify Snack Brands (BETR) began trading on the NYSE on 5 August 2015

The popcorn maker with Skokie, Illinois roots today issued its initial public offering, selling 15 million shares at $18, raising about $270 million. That sets total valuation for the company—now based in Austin, Texas, and known as Amplify Snack Brands—at about $1.35 billion.

Shares, listed under the ticker symbol BETR, opened sharply lower on the first day of trading, sinking 9.1 percent to $16.36 in early afternoon trading on the Nasdaq market.

The IPO comes just more than a year after Chicago entrepreneurs Andy Friedman and Pam Netzky sold a majority stake of their fast-growing SkinnyPop to a Boston private-equity firm for $320 million, according to registration documents.

It caps an incredible run for the brand founded by Netzky and Friedman, which delivered its first bag of popcorn for sale to Potash Bros. Markets in Lincoln Square in August 2010. Neither responded to requests for comment.

Positioned as a healthy, low-calorie snacking alternative free of controversial genetically modified organisms, cholesterol, trans fats, dairy, peanuts, gluten and preservatives, Skinny Pop's ready-to-eat popcorn hit the market on the leading edge of a wave of health-focused products increasingly in-demand by consumers seeking snack foods with perceived health benefits and so-called “clean” ingredient lists.

The idea came to Netzky after she founded gourmet caramel corn and cheese corn purveyor Wells Street Popcorn with Friedman a few years earlier. “While growing Wells Street Popcorn, we discovered an untapped market for a healthier, ready-to-eat popcorn,” Ms. Netzky told Crain's in 2011. “Thus SkinnyPop was born.”

Within days after getting the first bags at Potash Bros., the market came back to her with an order in what she called "scary quantities."

The momentum never slowed. Sales have grown at a torrid pace. In 2014, SkinnyPop booked $132.4 million in sales, up 137.6 percent from $55.7 million the prior year, and more than eightfold from $16 million in 2012, according to securities filings. Through the first six months of 2015, sales were $91.6 million, up nearly 50 percent from the same period in 2014.

The company doesn't see those trends slowing anytime soon.

ANOTHER HELPING PLEASE

Since SkinnyPop's July 14, 2014, acquisition by private-equity firm TA Associates, the company moved its headquarters to Austin and reincorporated as Amplify Snack Brands. As part of the deal, it brought on a new CEO, former Oberto Brands head Tom Ennis, and a new management team.

In April, it tacked on tortilla-chip maker Paqui for $12.2 million, and the company says in its prospectus that it may seek further acquisitions in the snacking sector to fill out its product portfolio.

“We believe a variety of favorable consumer trends, including a greater focus on health and wellness, increased consumption of smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day and a strong preference for convenient better for you products, will continue to drive both strong overall snacking growth, as well as the continued outperformance of better-for-you products within the overall market," Amplify Snack Brands says in its prospectus.

The company estimates the size of the overall U.S. popcorn segment, which includes microwave popcorn and ready-to-eat popcorn, at $1.9 billion in 2014, up 8.1 percent from 2013. The $966 million ready-to-eat sub-segment where SkinnyPop resides is the fastest-growing segment within U.S. salty snacks, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 14.6 percent since 2010, the company estimates. SkinnyPop says it grew its share of the ready-to-eat segment to 12.1 percent in 2014.

And its management team thinks it has room to grow. SkinnyPop is now in 47,000 retail locations in the U.S. and Canada, almost double its 25,000-store footprint last summer. Even so, the company says it has less than 20 percent retail penetration in the U.S., citing data from research firm IRI. Further, it has no presence outside North America, an expansion opportunity the company says it intends to pursue.

The company's founders, Friedman and Netzky, continue to be involved with the company as senior advisers with spots on the company's board of directors. Together, they still own about 8.6 percent of the company's stock and are each eligible for a cash payment of up to $10 million based on SkinnyPop's performance in 2015. They're also due to receive another windfall in 2016, when Amplify expects to pay them about $25.3 million, according to the prospectus.

IPOs this week : August 3 - 7, 2015

The initial public offering (IPO) calendar for this week lists 9 companies with plans to enter the public market. 

Through the week ending July 31st, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 121 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, down about 33% from a year ago. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $20.9 billion, down about 47% compared with the same period in 2014. Of the 121 IPOs that have gone off this year, 53 have come from the healthcare sector. Last year’s IPO total came in at $85.2 billion, the highest total in the past ten years. Renaissance Capital does not include “best efforts” or blank check companies in its totals.

Last week’s largest one-day pop was posted by NanKwest (NASDAQ: NK) which gained 39%. The only other positive pop for the week was posted by Aqua Metals Inc. (NASDAQ: AQMS) with a jump of 7%. Intec Pharma Ltd, which currently trades on the Tel Aviv exchange, did not complete its IPO last week and may try again in the coming week.

Two IPOs on last week’s calendar, Poseidon Containers Holdings and NEP Group, have been postponed.

Of the nine firms lined up to price and begin trading in the coming week, we have four healthcare companies, a snack food maker, a solar energy company, a REIT, an energy company, and a fitness center operator.

RiverBanc Multifamily Investors Inc. is a REIT that plans to acquire and manage a diverse portfolio of structured investments in multifamily apartment communities. The company plans to offer 3.8 million shares in an IPO price range of $19 to $20 to raise $74.1 million at an implied market cap of $128.7 million. Joint bookrunners for the offering are Baird, Keefe Bruyette Woods, Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Nomura Securities, and Oppenheimer & Co. The sole co-manager is J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons Inc. Shares are scheduled only for the week of August 3rd, and have been approved to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol RMI. The company is a successor to RB Multifamily Investors LLC.

Amplify Snack Brands Inc. develops and marketing brands and products that appeal to consumers’ growing preference for BFY (“Better-For-You”) snacks. The company plans to offer 15 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16, raising $225 million at an implied market cap of $1.125 billion. Joint bookrunners for the offering include Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Credit Suisse, and Suntrust Robinson Humphrey. Co-managers are William Blair and Piper Jaffray. Shares are scheduled to price on Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BETR.

Benitec Biopharma Ltd. is an Australia-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel, proprietary therapeutic technology platform that combines gene silencing and gene therapy with a goal of providing sustained, long-lasting silencing of disease-causing genes from a single administration. The company’s ordinary shares currently trade on the Australian Securities Exchange and the company plans to offer 5 million American Depositary Shares, each representing 20 ordinary shares, at an IPO price of $13.06 per ADS. Benitec plans to raise $65.3 million at an implied market cap of $141 million. Sole bookrunner for the offering is BMO Capital Markets. Co-managers are Maxim Group LLC and Roth Capital. The ADSes are expected to begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BNTC.

Sunrun Inc. is a solar energy provider for homeowners. The company plans to offer 17.9 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15, raising $250.6 million at an implied market cap of $1.36 billion. Joint bookrunners for the IPO are Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA/Merrill Lynch, and RBC Capital Markets. Co-managers are KeyBanc Capital Markets and Suntrust Robinson Humphrey. Shares are expected to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol RUN.

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary next-generation synthetic cannabinoid therapeutics formulated for transdermal delivery. The company plans to offer 3 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $42 million at an implied market cap of $122.2 million. Joint bookrunners for the offering are Jefferies and Piper Jaffray. Co-managers are Canaccord Genuity and Oppenheimer & Co. Shares are expected to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ZYNE.

Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a new therapeutic approach, including the development of proprietary product candidates, for the treatment of peanut and other food allergies. The company plans to offer 8.3 million shares in an expected range of $14 to $16 to raise $125 million at an implied market cap of $585 million. Joint bookrunners for the offering are BofA/Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and Piper Jaffray. The stock is set to price on Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AIMT.

GC Aesthetics plc is an Ireland-based pure-play female aesthetics company. The company plans to offer 5.4 million shares in an IPO price range of $13 to $15 to raised about $75 million at an implied market cap of $242.2 million. Joint bookrunners for the offering are BofA/Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, and Cowen & Co. Co-manager is William Blair. Shares are scheduled to price on Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol GCAA.

Philadelphia Energy Solutions Inc. is a holding company with two operating subsidiaries in oil refining and logistics. The company plans to offer 15.2 million shares in an expected price range of $15 to $18, raising $250 million at an implied market cap of about $488 million. Joint bookrunners for the offering are BofA/Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Jefferies, and J.P. Morgan. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PESC.

Planet Fitness Inc. is franchisor and operator of 1,000 fitness centers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico as of June 2015. The company plans to offer 13.5 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise about $203 million at an implied market cap of $528.5 million. Joint bookrunners for the offering are J.P. Morgan, BofA/Merrill Lynch, Jefferies, and Credit Suisse. Co-managers include Guggenheim Securities, Baird, William Blair, Piper Jaffray, and Cowen & Co. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PLNT.

Virgin America (VA) : 8-month performance

daily Heikin Ashi

Santander Consumer (SC) : 18-month performance

Five Prime Therapeutics (FPRX) : 2-year performance

 

SunEdison (SUNE) announces pricing of IPO of TerraForm Global (GLBL)

BETHESDA, Md., July 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SunEdison (SUNE) and TerraForm Global, Inc. ("TerraForm Global") announced today that TerraForm Global, a subsidiary of SunEdison, has priced an underwritten initial public offering of 45,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock at a price to the public of $15.00 per share, representing gross proceeds of $675 million. The shares will begin trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on July 31, 2015 under the ticker symbol "GLBL." In connection with this offering, TerraForm Global has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 6,750,000 shares of Class A common stock at the initial public offering price. TerraForm Global will also receive gross proceeds of $67.5 million from the sale of shares of Class A common stock in connection with a concurrent private placement transaction at a price per share equal to the initial public offering price.

TerraForm Global intends to use the net proceeds of this offering and the gross proceeds from the private placement transactions described in the prospectus to acquire newly-issued Class A units of TerraForm Global, LLC ("Global LLC"). Global LLC will use such proceeds and cash on hand, along with proceeds of the $810.0 million senior unsecured notes offering of TerraForm Global Operating, LLC, to repay all outstanding indebtedness (including accrued interest) under its bridge facility, to pay pending acquisition consideration, to repay project-level indebtedness and for general corporate purposes, which may include future acquisitions of clean energy generation assets from SunEdison or from unaffiliated third parties.

J.P. Morgan and Barclays are serving as joint bookrunning managers and structuring advisors in the offering, and Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Sachs & Co., BofA Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank Securities are serving as joint bookrunners in the offering.  Additionally, BTG Pactual, Itaú BBA, SMBC Nikko, Societe Generale and Kotak Investment Banking are serving as co-managers in the offering.


Copies of the prospectus related to the offering may be obtained from J.P. Morgan, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by telephone at (866) 803-9204; from Barclays, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by calling (888) 603-5847 or by emailing barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com; from Citi, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by calling (800) 831-9146; or from Morgan Stanley, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014, Attention: Prospectus Department.

SoulCycle files for a $100 million IPO

• The chain started as a 31-bike studio on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 2006. 
• It's since grown to 38 studios in seven cities, and hopes to add up to 250 locations across the United States. 
• SoulCycle's revenue increased from $75 million in 2013 to $112 million, and net income increased from $18 million to $25 million over the same  period.
• Attendees can burn up to 700 calories per spin class,
• ‪As exercise routines serve more roles in people’s lives—stress relief, psychotherapy, social outlet, even personal identity—the expense of boutiques becomes easier to justify, their devotees say.