Best Performing IPOs of the Year

CureVac (CVAC), which was the screen’s best-performing IPO and had a total return of 596.75%. CureVac specializes in the messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology that is the basis of several leading Covid-19 vaccine programs. The German biotech company went public in August at $16 a share and soared 249% in its first day, with the stock closing at $55.90. In January, CureVac struck a deal with Bayer to accelerate the development and supply of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The company’s mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine is now in clinical trials, and Phase2b/3 data is expected this summer. Since its IPO, the stock has nearly doubled, closing Friday at $111.48 .

Company Name (As Reported)	Symbol	Offer Date	Offer Price (USD)	Total % Return From Offer Price
CureVac BV	CVAC	14-Aug-2020	16.00	596.75
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.	ZIM	27-Jan-2021	15.00	209.33
Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc.	ASO	01-Oct-2020	13.00	181.00
Dream Finders Homes, Inc.	DFH	20-Jan-2021	13.00	144.38
BigCommerce Holdings, Inc.	BIGC	04-Aug-2020	24.00	126.63
MediaAlpha, Inc.	MAX	28-Oct-2020	19.00	122.74
Yalla Group Ltd.	YALA	30-Sep-2020	7.50	107.60
Li Auto, Inc.	LI	30-Jul-2020	11.50	102.61
CPG Newco LLC	AZEK	11-Jun-2020	23.00	89.26
Corsair Gaming, Inc.	CRSR	23-Sep-2020	17.00	83.65
Unity Software, Inc.	U	17-Sep-2020	52.00	81.65

Source: FactSet. Data as of May 29.

Strong performances need not be dictated by success on the first day of trading. Four of the companies that made our list were busted deals—meaning that their shares fell below their IPO prices on the first day of trading.

Case in point: ZIM Integrated Shipping (ZIM). The asset-light shipping company went public in January with a $15 offering price, but closed that day at $11.50. Yet by May 19, ZIM’s stock had gained 295% after it reported first-quarter earnings of $589.6 million, or $5.35 a share. The company also declared a special cash dividend of $2 a share. ZIM is the second-best-performing IPO in the past 12 months, based on a total return of 209.33%, according to FactSet. It closed on Friday at $46.40.

Another example is Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO): The company went public in October with a $13 offering price, with the stock closing at $12.99 during its first day of public trading. Academy was profitable when it went public, a rarity in the IPO market. In March, the company reported that its net income soared 416%, to $91.5 million, or 97 cents a share, for its fourth fiscal quarter ended Jan. 30. Its shares have nearly tripled since the IPO, and were trading at $36.53 on Friday. Academy Sports ranks third with a total return from the offering price of 181%, FactSet said. 

Rounding out this category are Corsair Gaming (CRSR), a California company that makes performance gear for gamers, and the Dubai-based Yalla Group (YALA), which makes a voice-chat app used in the Middle East and North Africa called Yalla. Both stocks have rebounded strongly after less-than-stellar September IPOs.

Some companies that made our list soared during their debuts, but have since seen their shares retreat. Still, these companies are producing gains.

Consider BigCommerce (BIGC), which provides a cloud e-commerce platform that is used by such customers as SkullCandy, Savannah Bee Co, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. BigCommerce  went public in August with a $24 offering price—and the stock soared 201% that day, closing at $72.27. Since the IPO, the shares have fallen nearly 25%, amid a broader technology selloff.

The company, however, has reported some positive developments, like a deal in February that would give BigCommerce customers the ability to sell directly on Walmart Marketplace. It also reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. BigCommerce has produced a total return of nearly 127%, according to FactSet. 

Other companies have seen their shares jump since going public.  Dream Finders Homes (DFH), which designs, builds, and sells homes in high-growth markets, was already profitable when it made its trading debut in January at $13 a share. Shares soared 61%, $20.95 on its first day. Prices for houses in March grew at the fastest rate since 2005, which has helped real estate stocks. Dream Finders stock has gained nearly 52% since its IPO, trading Friday at $31.77. Dream Finders notched a total return from offering price of 144.38%. 

FIGS, Inc. (FIGS) began trading on the NYSE on Thur 27 May 21

FIGS, Inc. operates as a direct-to-consumer healthcare apparel and lifestyle company in the United States.

• Sector(s): Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Apparel Manufacturing
• Full Time Employees: 202
• Founded in 2013 
• Headquartered in Santa Monica, California
• http://www.wearfigs.com

Opened at $28.30 after pricing 26.4 mlh share IPO at $22.00 per share, above the expected range of $16-19
The previous initial offering was for 22.5 mln shares
 

Day One Biopharmaceuticals (DAWN) began trading on the Nasdaq on Thur 27 May 21

Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes targeted therapies for patients with genetically defined cancers. 

• Sector(s): Healthcare
• Industry: Biotechnology
• Full Time Employees: 20
• Incorporated in 2018 
• Headquartered in South San Francisco, California
• http://dayonebio.com

Opened at $25 after pricing 10 mln share IPO at at $16.00 per share, at the high of the $14-16 expected range

Ollie's Bargain Outlet (OLLI) reported earnings on Thur 27 May 21 (a/h)

  ** charts after earnings **

Ollie's Bargain Outlet beats by $0.18, beats on revs 

Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.80 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.18 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $0.62; revenues rose 29.5% year/year to $452.5 mln vs the $422.13 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

• Comparable store sales increased 18.8%.
• Gross margin increased 20 basis points to 40.4% in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 from 40.2% in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. The increase in gross margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 is due to improvement in merchandise margin, partially offset by increases in and deleveraging of supply chain costs, primarily the result of higher transportation expenses.

The Company continues to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the broader economy and, more specifically, its associates, customers, business partners and supply chain. Given the vast uncertainties regarding the pace of economic recovery and consumer demand amidst the ongoing pandemic, the Company is continuing its practice of not providing guidance for fiscal 2021.

Singular Genomics Systems (OMIC) began trading on the NYSE on Thur 27 May 21

Singular Genomics Systems, Inc., a life science technology company, develops next generation sequencing and multiomics technology to build products for researchers and clinicians to advance science and medicine.

• Sector(s): Healthcare
• Industry: Medical Instruments & Supplies
• Full Time Employees: 138
• http://singulargenomics.com

Opened at $29.00 after pricing 10.2 mln share IPO at $22.00 per share, at the high end of the $20-22 expected range

IPOs this week : May 24 - 28, 2021 (wk 21)

IPOs expected to price

• ZipRecruiter (ZIP), Paymentus (PAY) and Flywire (FLYW) to begin trading on May 26.  

IPO quiet period expirations

• FTC Solar (FTCI), Endeavor (EDR), Aveanna (AVAH), Vaccitech (VACC) and Werewolf Therapeutics (HOWL). 

IPO lockup expirations

Ozon (OZON), Vision Marine Technology (VMAR), Alset EHome International (AEI) and BriaCell Therapeutics (BCTX).

Oatly Group AB (OTLY) began trading on the Nasdaq on Thur 20 May 21

Oatly Group AB, a vegan food and drink maker from Sweden, just raised more than $1.4 billion in an initial public offering. American depositary shares of the company opened at $22.12, 30% above the IPO price of $17. 

The company has been on an upward trajectory over the past few years, as its oat-based, non-dairy milk percolated out of the hipster coffee-shop scene and into the mainstream American refrigerator.

The firm fits squarely alongside a slew of trendy companies, including Beyond Meat Inc. and Impossible Foods, that all cater to consumers increasingly concerned about health and the environmental.

 

Started way back in 1994 by two brothers, Rickard and Bjorn Oste.

Rickard, a professor of food chemistry, developed an oat-based milk substitute with a team at Sweden’s Lund University. Bjorn, who was an engineer by training, joined his older brother’s venture in 1997. The firm soon developed a cult following. 

Oatly reported a $60 million net loss on $421 million revenue in 2020, compared with a loss of $36 million on revenue of $204 million the previous year, according to its IPO filing. 

Oat milk, which was essentially nonexistent in the U.S. before Oatly’s entrance, saw a 151% jump in sales in dollar terms at retail outlets during the 52-week period ended March 13, according to NielsenIQ. 

Virios Therapeutics (VIRI) began trading on the Nasdaq on Thur 17 Dec 20

Sector(s): Healthcare
Industry: Biotechnology
Full Time Employees: 3
http://www.virios.com

 

Virios Therapeutics is a development-stage biotechnology company focused on advancing novel antiviral therapies to treat diseases associated with a viral triggered abnormal immune response, such as fibromyalgia ("FM"). Overactive immune response related to activation of tissue resident Herpes Simplex Virus-1 ("HSV-1") has been postulated to be a potential root cause of chronic illnesses such as FM, irritable bowel disease ("IBS"), chronic fatigue syndrome and functional somatic syndrome, all of which are characterized by a waxing and waning manifestation of disease. While not completely understood, there is general agreement in the medical community that activation of HSV-1 is triggered by some form of environmental and/or health stressor. Our lead development candidate ("IMC-1"), is a novel, proprietary, fixed dose combination of famciclovir and celecoxib. IMC-1 represents a novel combination antiviral therapy designed to synergistically suppress HSV-1 activation and replication, with the end goal of reducing viral mediated disease burden.

IPOs this week : May 17 - 21, 2021 (wk 20)

IPOs expected to price

• Squarespace (SQSP) on May 19
• Oatly (OTLY) and Procure Technologies (PCOR) on May 20. 

 IPO quiet period expirations

• UiPath (NYSE:PATH), Skywater (NASDAQ:SKYT), DoubleVerify (NYSE:DV), Zymergen (NASDAQ:ZY), NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) and KnowBe4 (NASDAQ:KNBE) on May 17. 

The logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com will start marketing its Hong Kong IPO to retail investors next week. The JD Logistics IPO is expected to be the second largest deal on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year.

HNST : 1-week performance

 
5/7/21

5/13/21

Driven Brands Holdings (DRVN) : 4-month performance

 

Genworth postpones IPO of mortgage insurer Enact (ACT)

Enact Holdings (ACT) has filed to raise $497 million in an IPO of its common stock, according to an S-1/A registration statement.

The firm provides mortgage insurance to prospective residential mortgage borrowers in the United States.

ACT has grown revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, but I’m concerned that consumer home buying activity will revert to the mean, reducing revenue growth and profitability, so I'll pass on the IPO.

Company and Technology

Raleigh, North Carolina,-based Enact was founded as a division within parent company Genworth Financial (GNW) in 1981 to provide mortgage insurance to enable borrowers to qualify for lower interest rate loans.

Management is headed by president and CEO Rohit Gupta, who has been within the Genworth group since 2003 and was previously Genworth Mortgage Insurance Company's Chief Commercial Officer.

FTCI : 2-week performance

 

Orphazyme (ORPH) : topline data from pivotal trial of arimoclomol in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

• Pivotal trial did not meet primary and secondary endpoints evaluating impact on function and survival
• Orphazyme remains focused on commercial readiness and potential U.S. approval of arimoclomol for Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) in June 
• Sept 29, 20: Orphazyme, a Danish late-stage biotech developing protein therapies for rare neurodegenerative diseases, raised $84 million by offering 7.6 million ADS equivalents at $11, below the as-converted last close of its shares on the Nasdaq Copenhagen (ORPHA). At pricing, the company raised -16% less in proceeds than anticipated.

Copenhagen – May 7, 2021 – Orphazyme A/S (ORPHA.CO; ORPH), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the heat shock protein response for the treatment of rare diseases, today announced that the ORARIALS-01 pivotal trial of arimoclomol in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) did not meet its primary and secondary endpoints to show benefit in people living with ALS. No important safety signals were reported in the trial. Topline data will be presented at the upcoming virtual European Network to Cure ALS (ENCALS) meeting, May 12-14, and complete data from the study will be published later this year.

“We are disheartened by these results, as we had hoped arimoclomol might represent a viable new approach against the formidable challenge of this devastating disease. We express our sincere thanks to the investigators, patients and families for their participation and collaboration in our program,” said Thomas Blaettler, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Orphazyme. “With over 18 months of evaluation, this trial represents one of the longest running clinical studies in this category. While unsuccessful, the data generated will contribute meaningfully to the scientific dialogue on this challenging disease. We will apply the invaluable insights from this and other studies to further our pipeline as we continue to pursue the full potential of the heat shock protein response.”

The randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial was conducted among 245 patients at 29 sites in 12 countries in North America and Europe. Participants were randomized (2:1 ratio) to receive either arimoclomol (248 mg three times daily)i or placebo for up to 76 weeks. The primary endpoint was to determine the efficacy of chronic treatment with arimoclomol compared to placebo in participants with ALS as assessed by the combined assessment of function and survival (CAFS). This endpoint was selected to illustrate the overall treatment effect based on survival and the change in the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) score. Secondary endpoints included survival, change in ALSFRS-R, and slow vital capacity (SVC).

About arimoclomol

Arimoclomol is an investigational drug candidate that amplifies the production of heat shock proteins (HSPs). HSPs can rescue defective misfolded proteins, clear protein aggregates, and improve the function of lysosomes. Arimoclomol is administered orally, and has now been studied in 10 phase 1, four phase 2 and three pivotal phase 2/3 trials. Arimoclomol is in clinical development for NPC and Gaucher disease. Arimoclomol has received orphan drug designation (ODD) for NPC in the US and EU. Arimoclomol has received fast-track designation (FTD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for NPC. In addition, arimoclomol has received breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) and rare-pediatric disease designation (RPDD) from the FDA for NPC. Arimoclomol is an investigational treatment and has not been approved by the FDA.

The Honest Company (HNST) began trading on the Nasdaq on Wed 5 May 21

The Honest Company, Inc. manufactures and sells baby, personal, and beauty care products. It offers products in the areas of diapers, bath, body, beauty, cleaning, gifts, kids, and clothing.

• Sector(s): Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Specialty Retail
• Full Time Employees: 191
• Incorporated in 2012 
• Headquartered in Los Angeles, California
• http://www.honest.com
  

Priced 25.8 mln share IPO at $16.00 per share, at the higher end of the $14-17 expected range

Opened at $21.22

 

 

Skillz (SKLZ)

Skillz is a mobile gaming/esports platform where users can compete and game developers share revenue.

• Investors including Wellington, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Neuberger Berman funds have committed to a $159 million PIPE with total commitments exceeding $250 million.
• High growth business with projected 2022 revenue of $555 million, a 57% CAGR from 2020
• Andrew Paradise, CEO & Founder of Skillz, and Casey Chafkin, CRO and Founder of Skillz, will continue to lead the company
• Existing Skillz stockholders and Flying Eagle sponsor agreed to 24-month lock-up

Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: FEAC) is headed by Harry Sloan, a media executive who was formerly the CEO of MGM. Sloan was also behind Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp., which took fantasy sports platform DraftKings public via SPAC in 2020.

First day of trading Dec 17, 2020:  Opened at $17.89, closed $22.73.

IPOs this week : May 3 - 7, 2021 (wk 18)

IPOs expected to price

•  Honest Company (HNST) and 

• Five Star Bancorp (FSBC). 

 IPO quiet period expirations

• UTime (NASDAQ:UTME) on May 3,

• VectivBio (NASDAQ:VECT) and Reneo Pharma (NASDAQ:RPHM) on May 4. 

IPO lockup expirations

• Gatos Silver (NYSE:GATO) on May 3. . Honest IPO preview: 

 

The Honest Company (HNST) is looking to raise as much as $439M in an IPO next week that could give co-founder Jessica Alba a stake valued at about $96M. Honest Company sells baby products, cleaning supplies and cosmetics. The company plans to sell 6.5M shares and existing shareholders will sell 19.4M shares in an expected range of $14 to $17. At the top end of the range, Honest would have a market value of $1.54M. Selling shareholders include private equity firm L Catterton, Institutional Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and General Catalyst. Jessica Alba doesn't plan to sell any of her shares. them in the offering, according to the filing. The Los Angeles-based company had a net loss of $14.5M on revenue of $301M in 2020, compared with a loss of $31M on revenue of $236M the previous year. HNST expects 2019-2025 compound annual growth rates in the clean-and-natural part of those businesses to hit 16% for diapers/wipes, 10% for skin/personal care and 4% for household/wellness.