Last week, the U.S. stock market took a hard hit as the leading indexes lost over well over 2 percent each, but a couple of IPOs defied gravity. We don’t know what this week’s stock market will bring, but the calendar has a couple of new issues that have similar traits to last week’s IPO high flyers.
They are NantKwest (formerly Conkwest) (KN – proposed) and vTv Therapeutics (VTVT – proposed)and last week’s high flyers were Blue Buffalo Pet Products (BUFF) and Neos Therapeutics (NEOS).
Below are the highlights of this week’s coming attractions and the similarities with last week’s star performers.
A Natural Killer
NantKwest is a Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California-based clinical-stage immunotherapy company focusing on harnessing the power of the immune system by using the natural killer (NK)cell to treat cancer, infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases.
The Wall Street professionals are calling NantKwest “the pick of the week.” The deal has been accelerated to be priced on Monday night, moving it up from Tuesday evening.
Note:
- Franklin Templeton funds, which are already stockholders of the company, have indicated an interest in buying about $45 million of shares of common stock in this offering.
- Entities affiliated with Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the chairman and CEO, have indicated an interest in purchasing up to $10 million of shares of common stock in this offering.
- An affiliate of Celgene Corporation has agreed to buy $17 million of common stock in a separate private placement concurring with the completion of this offering at a price per share equal to the IPO price.
Bankers plan to price 7 million shares at $20 to $23 each on Monday evening to trade on the NASDAQ Global Market on Tuesday morning.
(For more information, please click here: NantKwest.
Similarity to Blue Buffalo: Both IPOs closed their book for taking indications of interest a day ahead of their pricing dates.
- NantKwest: On Thursday, July 23, bankers reported an early closing of their books for July 24 – one business day ahead of its pricing date on July 27.
- Blue Buffalo: On Monday, July 20, bankers reported an early closing of their books that day – one business day ahead of its pricing date on July 21.
- Results: Blue Buffalo, a pet food company, priced its IPO of 33.8 million shares at $20 each, UP from 29.5 million shares at $16 to $18 each. On Wednesday, July 22, the stock opened at $27 and closed its opening day at $27.20, UP 36 percent from its IPO price.
Targeting Alzheimer’s Disease
vTv Therapeutics is a High Point, North Carolina-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops orally administered small molecule drug candidates to fill significant unmet medical needs. The company has what it considers a powerful pipeline of clinical drug candidates, led by its programs to treat Alzheimer’s disease and Type 2 diabetes.
Note: MacAndrews & Forbes, vTv’s principal shareholder, has indicated an interest in purchasing through one or more affiliates up to an aggregate amount of about $25 million of shares in this offering at the IPO price.
Bankers plan to price 7.8 million shares at $15 to $17 each on Monday evening to trade on the NASDAQ Global Market on Tuesday morning.
Similarity to Neos Therapeutics: Both IPOs are pharmaceutical companies, a hot sector in today’s IPO market.
- vTv Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company (see above for description).
- Neos Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company. It focuses on developing, manufacturing and commercializing products using its proprietary modified-release drug delivery technology platform, which it has already used to develop its three branded product candidates to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Neos Therapeutics’ product candidates include extended-release tablets and liquid suspension dosage forms, according to its website.
- Results: Neos Therapeutics priced its IPO of 4.8 million shares at $15 each, UP from 4 million shares at $14 to $16 each. On Thursday, July 23, the stock opened at $18.22 and closed its first day at $19.54, UP 30.3 percent from its initial public offering price.
Something In the Wind
Now turning to this week calendar, it rounds out with a total of eight IPOs expecting to raise about $2.1 billion.
The biggie is TerraForm Global (GLBL – proposed), a Bethesda, Maryland-based globally diversified and dividend growth-oriented company formed to own and operate contracted clean power generation assets in attractive high-growth emerging markets. The company’s portfolio includes solar and wind projects in China, India and South Africa, as well as hydro-electric projects in Brazil and Peru, according to its prospectus.
Bankers plan to price 56.6 million shares at $19 to $21 each on Wednesday evening to raise about $1.13 billion. The IPO is scheduled to start trading on the NASDAQ Global Market on Thursday morning.
Looking into the week of Aug. 3, the IPO calendar lists three deals. They expect to raise about $517 million. Nevertheless, the calendar has been known to fill up quickly on Monday mornings.
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 opinions.