A US IPO market already bruised by the software selloff took fresh hits this week from a new war in the Middle East and a weak jobs report.
The VIX Volatility Index climbed to a YTD high of nearly 30. That’s close to where IPO issuance shuts down.
The Renaissance IPO Index declined -2.1% this week, about in line with the S&P 500’s -2.0% loss. Energy exporter Venture Global led the IPO Index winners – no surprise there – along with a rebound from several software and fintech names. Early-stage power developer Fermi was the week’s loser.
One traditional IPO priced this week: Medtronic’s diabetes device business MiniMed (Nasdaq: MMED) raised $560 million by slashing its offer price to $20, then broke issue. Corporate carve-outs often list in spite of challenging markets, with the parent more interested in reorganization than price maximization.
Robinhood launched a newly listed product, but its Ventures Fund I (NYSE: RVI) raised less than a third of the $1 billion targeted before dropping -15.8%. The lack of demand was notable given pre-IPO holdings like Stripe and Databricks. Not long ago, this type of fund might have traded at a premium to NAV. Instead, retail investors took a page from Groucho Marx and decided they didn't want to belong to any pre-IPO fund that would accept them as members.
A lone Japanese issuer will attempt to brave US markets next week. Mobile payments app PayPay (Nasdaq: PAYP) aims to raise $1 billion, the most ever for a Japanese company on a US exchange. The SoftBank-backed fintech is a leader in Japan’s transition to cashless payments, and its growth and profitability give it Rule-of-40 bona fides.
Take care,
Bill Smith
CEO and Founder
Renaissance Capital
|
Biggest price changes through
Mar 6th
in the
Renaissance IPO Index
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Top 5 | ||
| Venture Global | VG | 28.8% |
| Circle Internet Group | CRCL | 22.1% |
| Figure Technology Solutions | FIGR | 20.6% |
| Klaviyo | KVYO | 20.5% |
| ServiceTitan | TTAN | 14.6% |
| Bottom 5 | ||
| Fermi | FRMI | -19.7% |
| Pony AI | PONY | -13.0% |
| Viking Holdings | VIK | -11.7% |
| Amer Sports | AS | -10.5% |
| Arm Holdings | ARM | -10.3% |
| Sectors | ||
| Energy | 28.8% | |
| Financials | 7.8% | |
| Technology | 3.3% | |
| Industrials | 0.3% | |
| Consumer Staples | -3.1% | |
| Health Care | -3.3% | |
| Real Estate | -7.9% | |
| Consumer Discretionary | -8.9% | |
Renaissance IPO ETF (NYSE symbol: IPO) tracks the Renaissance IPO Index
The Renaissance IPO Index returned -2.1% last week vs. -2.0% for the S&P 500.
