US IPO Weekly Winners & Losers

We have a large deal on the calendar!

Frac sand company Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE: AESI) plans to raise $387 million at a $2.2 billion market cap, and trade on Thursday. At the midpoint, it’d be the biggest oil & gas IPO since 2019.

Goldman is the lead-left. We’ll know the IPO market is back once we see bulge bracket banks on 4 or so IPOs in a given week. For now, Atlas is going public alongside a crowd of micro-caps.

The US IPO index finished February down -1.4%, beating the S&P 500 for the month (-2.4%), though it felt more tumultuous than that. To that point, for the fourth straight week the IPO market reversed direction. This week it gained +3.3% vs. the S&P’s +1.9%.

Language learning app Duolingo was the week’s IPO winner, up +36.8% on a Q4 earnings beat. Beauty brand Olaplex continued to struggle, off -15.8% after underwhelming financials and guidance.

One micro-cap priced this week (BMR), alongside a $120 million SPAC (SBXC.U). Two SPACs completed mergers valued at $1+ billion (LVRO, HUBC), but both traded down double-digits. Seven SPACs announced mergers, with the largest valued at about $700 million (battery maker Sakuu, PLMI). SPAC liquidations continue to pour in as well.

Several “decacorns” are in the news. UK chip maker Arm is moving ahead with a New York IPO set for this year, with banks pitching valuations anywhere from $30-$70 billion (!). Grocery delivery service Instacart had a strong Q4, giving it some breathing room to set up its 2023 IPO. Meanwhile digital payments leader Stripe is tapping the private market, allowing it to delay its listing, again.

Coming up, we’re looking out for Atmus Filtration, which is eligible to kick off its roadshow next week. Aside from that, the pipeline is swamped with micro-caps.