US IPO Weekly Winners & Losers

What sell-off?

The Renaissance IPO Index jumped +5.7% this week, marking a full recovery from the drop in early August. The S&P 500 rose +3.9%, within a few percentage points of its all-time high.

Annual inflation cooled to 2.9%, its lowest level since 2021. Low jobless claims and strong consumer spending added more wind to the market’s sails. The VIX Volatility Index closed below 15, which re-opens the door for real IPO activity in the fall.

We’ll have a better sense of September deal flow next week, since companies need to file by Monday in order to launch their roadshows the day after Labor Day.

Chinese autonomous driving firm WeRide (Nasdaq: WRD) pushed its IPO to next week. A cornerstone investor indicated on 91% of the deal, so the delay may be due to some additional disclosures it made late in the week. Two small IPOs, a biotech (ACTU) and a Chinese software seller (YXT), began trading on the Nasdaq. Three SPACs raised a combined $500 million.

We saw one notable IPO filing this week: offshore oil & gas drilling equipment maker HMH (Nasdaq: HMHW). Several deals have updated their filings, including energy services firm Hornbeck Offshore (NYSE: HOS), natural gas producer BKV (NYSE: BKV), auto industry software developer Solera (NYSE: SLRA), and car share platform Turo (NYSE: TURO).

Airplane components supplier Loar Holdings led the IPO Index this week, up +22.0%. Loar is currently the best-performing sizable IPO of 2024. Assisted-driving company Mobileye continued its slide, down -6.4%, dogged by lower forecasts.