The IPO Buzz: From Healthcare to Hollywood

Healthcare shares the limelight with Hollywood this week. Bankers expect to raise about $2.2 billion from seven IPOs. The deals range from home healthcare provider Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (AVAH proposed) and Privia Health Group, Inc. (PRVA proposed), a doctors’ platform, to Hollywood powerhouse Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (EDR proposed).

Privia Health, a platform for doctors in Washington, D.C., and six states, is generating some buzz.  Some see it as “the deal of the week.” The pricing of the deal was accelerated to Wednesday night, moved up from Thursday night, with plans now for a Thursday debut. Aveanna Healthcare, which provides home healthcare to chronically ill children and elderly adults, is also attracting some interest. Aveanna’s IPO is set for pricing tonight (Tuesday, April 27^th) to start trading on Wednesday.

Vaccitech plc (VACC proposed), the British biotech that co-developed a COVID-19 vaccine with Oxford University and AstraZeneca, is one of two biotechs that launched their IPOs on Monday morning with plans to start trading on Friday. The other one was Werewolf Therapeutics, a pre-clinical pharmaceutical company with the proposed symbol HOWL – appealing to Wolfman Jack and Allen Ginsberg fans alike.

Endeavor Group, the Hollywood, sports and fashion power broker, is planning its second walk on the IPO runway. Endeavor owns the Hollywood talent agency WME (William Morris Endeavor), as well as IMG, the sports and modeling agency that runs New York Fashion Week, and the UFC, the mixed martial arts franchise.

“I’ve heard you can’t get anywhere in Hollywood without them,” an IPO investor said, adding that this did not factor into a decision on whether or not to indicate for the IPO.

Endeavor attempted to go public in late September 2019 and wound up pulling that IPO.  This time around, Endeavor has made a splash in the headlines with its plans to add Tesla CEO Elon Musk to its board, as this MarketWatch story noted last week.

Rounding out this week’s IPO Calendar are FTC Solar, Inc. (FTCI proposed), which makes the Voyager brand of solar panel tracker systems, and The Fortegra Group (FRF proposed), a specialty property and casualty insurance company. FTC Solar is scheduled to price its IPO tonight (Tuesday night) to start trading on Wednesday.  The solar energy sector is in play with the Biden administration’s policies, although IPO experts are paying close attention to the pricing on this IPO.

“Once again, valuation is the key,” a seasoned IPO professional told IPOScoop.

IPO investors are making valuation a priority after getting burned by some broken deals, notably AppLovin (APP) and DigitalOcean (DOCN).

(For details on this week’s seven IPOs, please see our IPO Calendar on IPOScoop.com.)

First Week of May

The Honest Co. (HNST proposed), co-founded by actress Jessica Alba, is the only IPO scheduled so far for the first week of May. The company makes and sells environmentally conscious diapers and wipes, beauty and personal care products, as well as laundry detergents and other household products. More names are likely to land on next week’s IPO Calendar as the week goes along.

Stay tuned.

(For more information about these companies, please click the hyperlinks, which will take you to the IPO profiles on IPOScoop.com.)

(Never trade on proposed symbols. You might wind up owning something on the OTC Bulletin Board.)

Disclosure: Nobody on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned above, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The IPOScoop.com staff does not issue advice, recommendations or opinions.

Disclaimer: A SCOOP Rating (Wall Street Consensus of Opening-day Premiums), is a general consensus taken, at press time, from Wall Street and investment professionals concerning how well an IPO might perform when it starts trading. The SCOOP Rating does not reflect the opinions of anyone associated with IPOScoop.com. The SCOOP ratings should not be taken as investment advice. The rating merely reflects the opinion of the professionals at the time of publication and is subject to last-minute changes due to market conditions, changes in a specific offering and other factors, such as changes in the proposed offering terms and the shifting of investor interest in the IPO. The information offered is taken from sources we believe to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy.