GlobalFoundries was the day’s biggest IPO.
Dreamstime
Solo Brands , known for its grills and fire pits, and clean energy storage firm Fluence Energy both gained during their first day of trading, while chip maker GlobalFoundries dropped below its offer price.
GlobalFoundries and Fluence both opened on the Nasdaq, while Solo began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
This week, nearly a dozen companies were expected to go public. Three firms opened on Wednesday. Rent the Runway (ticker: RENT), the online fashion-rental company, dropped 8% from its $23 initial public offering price. Informatica (INFA), the data-management company backed by the private-equity firm Permira, closed flat at its $29 offer price. And Arteris
(AIP), a provider of chip technology, rose 17% after pricing its deal at $14 a share.
The IPO market has grown more discerning, so not every growth company will gain in the aftermarket, investment bankers have said. Six firms were expected to go public Thursday, but only three opened for trading. Ensemble Health Partners, Candela Medical, and LianBio had also been scheduled to list.
Ensemble Health, which supplies revenue-cycle management software for health systems including hospitals, postponed its offering because of adverse market conditions. It will continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed IPO, a statement said.
Candela, which makes devices for cosmetic surgery, has also postponed its listing, a person familiar with the situation said. LianBio didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
GlobalFoundries (GFS), one of the year’s most anticipated offerings, became the latest to fall below its offer price. The stock opened Thursday at $47, peaked at $48 and closed at $46.40, down 1.3% from its offer price. This technically makes GlobalFoundries a so-called broken deal in that it didn’t deliver the first-day gain many IPO investors hope for.
Several companies last week, including medical technology company Minerva Surgical
(UTRS), software provider Cyngn (CYN), and The Vita Coco Company
(COCO), which sells packaged coconut water, also fell below their offer prices.
The Malta, New York, company raised nearly $2.6 billion after selling 55 million shares at $47 each, the top of its $42 to $47 price range.
GlobalFoundries makes integrated circuits that are used in devices such as mobile phones and personal computers, as well as in cars. The company was formed in 2009 when Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) spun off its manufacturing operations. At $46.40 a share, GlobalFoundries boasts a valuation of $24.8 billion.
Fluence Energy delivered Thursday’s best performance, gaining 25%. Shares of Fluence (FLNC) kicked off at $33.50, hit a high of $35.95, and closed at $35, up $7 from its offer price. Fluence late Wednesday raised more than expected; the company collected $868 million after selling 31 million shares at $28, higher than the $21 to $24 range it had told investors to expect.
Established in January 2018 as a joint venture between Siemens AG and AES (AES), Fluence Energy provides energy-storage technology to utilities, developers, and commercial, and industrial customers. Siemens and AES will each own 45.8% after the IPO, the prospectus for the deal said.
Solo Brands (DTC) makes fire pits, which it says are nearly smokeless, as well as grills and other products. It rose by nearly 4% in its market debut, launching at $22.36, hitting a high of $22.39 and ending at $17.61, up 61 cents from the offer price.
Late Wednesday, Southlake, Texas-based Solo collected $219.3 million. It sold 12.9 million shares at $17 each, also the top of its $14 to $17 price range.
Founded in 2011, Solo is a direct-to-consumer platform of outdoor lifestyle brands. The company is known for its Solo Stove Lite, a backpacking camp stove that can boil water in less than 10 minutes using just twigs, sticks, and leaves. Solo launched its nearly smokeless fire pits in 2016.
The company also offers kayaks, paddle boards, and men’s apparel. Summit Partners invested in Solo in 2020. The growth equity firm will own 46% of Solo after the IPO, the prospectus for the deal said.
Write to Luisa Beltran at [email protected]
