US IPO Weekly Recap: Healthcare shines in a 17 IPO week

In a turbulent week for the IPO market, 17 IPOs and 20 SPACs went public, and one company postponed, defense contractor Leonardo DRS (DRS). While returns cooled off, with just over half of the week’s IPOs finishing below issue, there were a few bright spots, led by biotechs Design Therapeutics (DSGN) and Ikena Oncology (IKNA).

Preclinical biotech Design Therapeutics (DSGN) priced at the high end to raise $240 million at a $1.1 billion market cap. The company is developing novel small-molecule therapies that are designed to be disease-modifying and target the underlying cause of inherited nucleotide repeat expansion diseases. Design plans to evaluate its lead candidate in trials with Friedreich ataxia patients by the 1H22, subject to receiving regulatory clearance. Design finished up 107%.

Ikena Oncology (IKNA) priced at the midpoint to raise $125 million at a $606 million market cap. Its lead targeted oncology candidate is an oral small molecule inhibitor of the TEAD transcription factor in the Hippo signaling pathway, for which the company intends to submit an IND in the 2H21. Ikena's most advanced tumor microenvironment candidates are currently being evaluated in Phase 1 trials. Ikena finished up 100%.

Rare disease biotech Edgewise Therapeutics (EWTX) upsized and priced at the high end to raise $176 million at a $876 million market cap. Its lead candidate is an orally administered small molecule inhibitor designed to address the root cause of dystrophinopathies. It is currently in a Phase 1 trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy, and Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. Edgewise finished up 88%.

Swedish proteomics platform Olink Holding (OLK) priced above the range to raise $353 million at a $2.4 billion market cap. Olink provides a portfolio of protein biomarker analysis products, with its current offering based on proprietary Proximity Extension Assay technology. The company’s revenue has historically been driven by the research market, though it expects its platform’s diagnostics applications will drive long-term growth. Olink finished up 61%.

Secondhand fashion platform ThredUp (TDUP) priced at the high end to raise $168 million at a $1.6 billion market cap. Unprofitable with strong pre-pandemic growth trends, ThredUp’s platform consists of distributed processing infrastructure, proprietary software and systems, and data science expertise. ThredUp finished up 43%.

Car auction platform ACV Auctions (ACVA) priced above the upwardly revised range to raise $414 million at a $4.1 billion market cap. Since its inception, ACV has facilitated over 750,000 wholesale transactions between over 21,000 dealers and commercial partners. Fast growing with a history of unprofitability, ACV operates in 125 territories, covering a substantial majority of all dealer locations within the continental US. ACV finished up 21%.

Movano (MOVE) raised $43 million at a $171 million market cap. Movano is developing a platform that uses radio frequency (RF) technology, which is the foundation for its first product in development, a wearable device that combines a continuous glucose monitor and a cuffless RF-based blood pressure monitor. The company plans to conduct trials for FDA 510(k) clearance in the 2H21. Movano finished up 13%.

Cleaning products maker Diversey Holdings (DSEY) priced below the range to raise $692 million at a $4.6 billion market cap. Diversey is a leading global pure play provider of cleaning and hygiene products for the institutional and food and beverage markets, holding the #1 or #2 position in its key markets. The company is exposed to FX fluctuations, and it is leveraged post-IPO. Diversey finished up 1%.

Chinese wealth management firm Hywin Holdings (HYW) downsized and priced at the low end to raise $30 million at a $280 million market cap. Hywin states that it is the third largest third-party wealth management service provider in China, with a 7.5% market share by 2019 transaction value. Hywin finished down 1%.

Low-cost TV brand Vizio (VZIO) downsized and priced at the low end to raise $257 million at a $4.3 billion market cap. The company was #2 in the North American television market by unit shipment from January 2018 to December 2020, and was the #1 sound bar brand in America by unit sales over the same period. However, it operates in a highly competitive market, and falling ASPs could hurt device revenue growth. Vizio finished down 1%.

Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) priced at the midpoint to raise $490 million at a $3.4 billion market cap. Profitable on an EBITDA basis with solid growth, Alignment provides customized Medicare Advantage plans. The company currently operates in just three states, and its members represent 3% of the seniors in Medicare Advantage plans in these markets. Alignment finished down 4%.

Crafting machine maker Cricut (CRCT) priced at the low end to raise $306 million at a $4.5 billion market cap. Benefiting from quarantined consumers in 2020, Cricut had nearly 1.2 million Paid Subscribers as of 9/30/20, and its total community of users grew 66% year-over-year. Growth is expected to decelerate post-pandemic. Cricut finished down 10%.

Chinese Q&A platform Zhihu (ZH) priced at the low end to raise $523 million at a $5.6 billion market cap. Unprofitable with fast growth, Zhihu is the largest Q&A-inspired online community and one of the top five comprehensive online content communities in China, both in terms of average mobile MAUs and revenue in 2020. Zhihu finished down 11%.

Web development platform DigitalOcean (DOCN) priced at the high end to raise $776 million at a $5.7 billion market cap. DigitalOcean was founded to provide the capabilities of cloud infrastructure and services to individual developers, start-ups, and SMBs. The company is highly profitable with strong margins, though it has significant capex needs. DigitalOcean finished down 11%.

Digital marketing management platform SEMrush Holdings (SEMR) downsized and priced at the low end to raise $140 million at a $2.0 billion market cap. Unprofitable with strong growth, SEMrush’s platform had over 404,000 active free and 67,000 paying customers as of 12/31/20. The company operates in a highly competitive market with low barriers to entry. SEMrush finished down 16%.

Dutch biotech LAVA Therapeutics (LVTX) priced at the midpoint to raise $101 million at a $405 million market cap. Its lead candidate is targeting CD1d-expressing hematologic cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, and acute myeloid leukemia. LAVA expects to begin enrollment for a Phase 1/2a trial in these indications in the 1H21. LAVA finished down 17%.

Chinese medicine maker Universe Pharmaceuticals (UPC) raised $25 million at a $105 million market cap. The company manufactures, markets, and distributes traditional Chinese medicine derivative (TCMD) products targeting the elderly, and currently produces 13 varieties of TCMD products. Universe Pharmaceuticals finished down 19%.

20 SPACs raised $6.5 billion this past week, led by The Gores Group and Guggenheim Partner’s Gores Guggenheim (GGPIU), which raised $750 million.

Sign up for a free trial of our premium platform, IPO Pro. Follow us on Twitter (@IPOtweet) and register for our updates on the IPO market.

12 IPOs submitted initial filings this past week. Software maker UiPath (PATH) filed to raise $1 billion, and autonomous trucking startup TuSimple Holdings (TSP) filed for an estimated $400 million IPO. Spatial biology company Akoya Biosciences (AKYA) filed to raise $115 million. AI drug discovery biotech Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX), synthetic biology company Zymergen (ZY), preclinical biotech Biomea Fusion (BMEA), and solar tracker system provider FTC Solar (FTCI) all filed to raise $100 million. Epilepsy medical device maker NeuroPace (NPCE) and semiconductor manufacturer SkyWater Technology (SKYT) both filed to raise $75 million. Canadian lithium mining company Snow Lake Resources (SLR.RC) filed to raise $23 million, Chinese financial services firm Sentage Holdings (SNTG) filed to raise $22 million, and Chinese drug developer Regencell Bioscience Holdings (RGCB) filed to raise $18 million.

37 SPACs submitted initial filings, led by Eldridge Industries’ Horizon Acquisition III (HZNA.U), which filed to raise $500 million, and Apollo’s Spartan Acquisition IV (SPAFU.RC), which filed to raise $400 million.


Sign up for a free trial of our premium platform, IPO Pro. Follow us on Twitter (@IPOtweet) and register for our updates on the IPO market.

This past week, Renaissance Capital released its 1Q 2021 US IPO Market Review, exploring the first quarter’s record-breaking activity, best and worst performers, and outlook for the 2Q. For access to the full report, sign up for a free trial of IPO Pro.

IPO Market Snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. As of 3/25/21, the Renaissance IPO Index was down 6.2% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 was up 4.1%. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Zoom Video (ZM) and Uber (UBER). The Renaissance International IPO Index was down 8.9% year-to-date, while the ACWX was up 3.0%. Renaissance Capital’s International IPO ETF (NYSE: IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Kuaishou Technology and Nexi.