Aquaron Acquisition Corp. (AQUNU) priced its SPAC IPO – 5 million units at $10.00 each – on Monday night (Oct. 3, 2022) – to get the IPO machinery in gear for October. Aquaron’s IPO officially began trading on the NASDAQ at 11:10 a.m. EDT today (Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022) at $10.00 – flat with its IPO price. This SPAC IPO was one of three deals, including a small-cap biotech IPO and a tiny NYSE-American uplisting, scheduled for pricing this week. (Editor’s Note: This column was updated after Tuesday’s close.)
Chardan Capital Markets was the sole book-runner for Aquaron Acquisition’s IPO.
The new energy sector, including electric vehicles and companies involved in “smart” transportation, is in focus at Aquaron Acquisition. Aquaron intends to search for target companies with a total enterprise value between $150 million and $300 million.
Aquaron Acquisition is among the relatively few SPACs with a female CEO. Yi Zhou is Aquaron’s chief executive officer. She is also the CEO of Ease Consulting, which she co-founded in September 2019. Ms. Zhou provides consulting services to venture capital funds and other funds that are expanding their limited partner base in the U.S., according to the prospectus.
The New York-based blank check company became the 80th SPAC IPO priced so far this year. Aquaron’s IPO had been in the works since its S-1 was filed on May 25, 2022. The SPAC filed confidential IPO documents in late May 2021.
Aquaron’s pricing occurred after Monday’s huge rally in the U.S. stock market. The major U.S. stock indexes soared for the second day on Tuesday as investors snapped up stocks beaten down in last week’s mauling by the bear market. The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 800 points on Tuesday (Oct. 4, 2022) to mark its best two-day performance since early April 2020 during the pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Aquaron Acquisition closed its first day of NASDAQ trading on Tuesday (Oct. 4, 2022) at $10.02, up 2 cents.
A Small Biotech IPO & A Tiny Uplisting
IPO bankers expect to raise $77.8 million this week, if all three deals get priced. Let’s take a look at the other two deals on this week’s IPO Calendar, both scheduled for pricing Thursday night, Oct. 6, 2022, to trade Friday, Oct. 7th:
– Aloxpexx Inc. (ALPX proposed) – a NASDAQ-listed biotech IPO of 3.0 million shares at $5.00 each from sole book-runner ThinkEquity, and
– Castellum, Inc. (CTM proposed) – an NYSE-American uplisting/public offering by a cybersecurity-focused business acquisition company – 3.2 million shares at $3.00 to $5.00 each from sole book-runner EF Hutton. To be clear, the Castellum deal is NOT an IPO.
Aloxpexx, a biotech based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is developing a vaccine, AV0328, and a human monoclonal antibody, F598, to prevent and treat bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections involving PNAG (poly N-acetylglucosamine). The company believes that its vaccine candidate, AV0328, has broad potential to prevent a wide range of infections, including pneumococcal pneumonia, methicillin-resistant Staphylo
Its human monoclonal antibody, F598, is being developed to treat bacterial and fungal infections (PNAG involved) in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), according to the prospectus.
Alopexx, like many biotechs, has not produced any revenues yet from its products. The company has a history of net losses, the prospectus says.
Castellum, based in Bethesda, Maryland, acquires and develops companies involved in cybersecurity, information technology and electronic warfare. The focus is on businesses serving the governmental and commercial markets.
The company has completed six acquisitions in the previous three years, the prospectus says. Financial statements also show that the company reported a net loss for the last 12 months.
Looking Toward the Light
Most of the excitement in the IPO market this week has centered on Mobileye Global Inc. (MBLY proposed), Intel’s self-driving car unit. The company finally filed its S-1 (prospectus) on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, after the closing bell on the last trading day of a dismal third quarter on Wall Street. Mobileye’s long-awaited initial public offering is expected to raise more than $1 billion. At that level, Mobileye would rank among the year’s biggest IPOs.
Other than that, the pace at the SEC’s filing window has been slow to moderate this week. That’s not a surprise, considering that this week will be cut short by a day for people observing Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur begins at sunset tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022) and ends at sunset on Wednesday (Oct. 5, 2022).
This essay, “My First Yom Kippur in Exile,” by Pinchas Goldschmidt, who was until recently the chief rabbi of Moscow, sheds so much light on this holy day and what it means to be free.
Tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022) also marks the ninth and final night of Navratri, the Hindu holiday celebrating the goddess Durga and the triumph of good over evil.
This story, published by Firstpost of India, explains why pink is the color of the day for all celebrating Navratri. Hint: The words “pink” and “kind” have three letters in common.
As the fourth quarter of 2022 gets under way, it’s a good time to celebrate the light within us all.
Stay tuned.
(For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profiles found on IPOScoop.com’s website.)
Note: Never trade on proposed symbols. They have been known to change and you might buy something on the OTC Bulletin Board.
To see what time the NASDAQ IPOs are expected to trade, please log in to: NASDAQTrader.com then scroll down to IPO Message.
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.
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