July’s IPO calendar is taking a cue from the traffic in July over the past few years. The new-issue traffic traditionally gets off to a slow start in July, when Wall Street’s population ebbs for the Independence Day holiday, and then picks up steam running to the end of the month. The numbers tell the story.
Let’s look at the number of IPOs priced in July in the previous three years, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s filings:
- 2016: 13 IPOs were priced in July; only two unit offerings were priced during the month’s first two weeks.
- 2015: 23 IPOs were priced in July; no IPOs were priced during the month’s first half.
- 2014: 36 IPOs were priced in July; no IPOs were priced during the month’s first half.
Now back to 2017 and the seventh month – aka July: Only two IPOs were priced during the month’s first two weeks, while a total of six companies are scheduled to go public this week. Bankers are expecting to raise about $965 million.
From Healthier Food to Healthier Pets
Question: What do gluten-reduced wheat, a thyroid drug for cats, and online yoga classes have in common? Answer: These are among the products and services offered by the six companies scheduled to go public this week. The names are Calyxt (CLXT – proposed), Federal Street Acquisition (FSACU – proposed), Kala Pharmaceuticals (KALA – prospectus), PetIQ (PETQ – proposed), TPG RE Finance Trust (TRTX – proposed), and YogaWorks (YOGA – proposed).
Calyxt, based in New Brighton, Minnesota, is a consumer-centric food and agriculture-focused company. Calyxt combines its gene-editing technology and technical expertise with its commercial strategy to develop a paradigm shift to deliver healthier food ingredients for consumers such as reduced-gluten wheat and lower saturated fat canola oil as well as food crops with agriculturally advantageous traits for farmers.
Federal Street Acquisition, based in Boston, is a newly organized “blank check” company formed to focus on the healthcare industry.
Kala Pharmaceuticals, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics using its proprietary nanoparticle-based Mucus Penetrating Particles (MPP) technology, with an initial focus on the treatment of eye diseases.
PetIQ, based in Eagle, Idaho, is a distributor and manufacturer of veterinarian-grade pet prescription medications, OTC flea and tick preventives, and health and wellness products for dogs and cats.
TPG RE Finance Trust, based in New York City, is a commercial real estate finance company formed to originate, acquire and manage commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate-related debt instruments for its balance sheet.
YogaWorks, based in Culver City, California, is one of the largest providers of quality yoga instruction in the United States. YogaWorks booked about 3 million student visits in 2016. The company owns 50 yoga studios and offers online classes through its Internet-based digital media service called MyYogaWorks.com.
(For more information about these companies, please check the IPO profiles found on IPOScoop.com’s website.)
A Late July Solo
This takes us to the final week of July. For the week of July 24, 2017, there is just one deal – a bank IPO – on tap. Nevertheless, a lot could happen when the SEC’s filing window opens again on Monday morning.
Stay tuned.
Disclosure: Neither the author nor anyone else on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned, nor do we trade or invest in IPOs. The author and IPOScoop.com staff do not issue advice, recommendations or opinion.