The boom in initial public offerings that started in 2020 has accelerated in 2021, thanks in part to record stock prices. Traditional IPOs have raised $96.3 billion as of mid-August, up 155.3% compared with a year ago.
There have been 277 IPOs so far in 2021, blowing past 2020’s full-year total of 218. In the last week of July alone, a record 20 companies completed new listings.
In August, one of the highest-profile IPOs was clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Adagio Therapeutics Inc. (ticker: ADGI). Adagio priced its $309 million IPO at $17 per share on Aug. 5, but its stock is already trading at more than $30 per share as of Sept. 2.
Investors and analysts expect the IPO boom to continue in September. Here are five IPOs to watch:
— Authentic Brands Group LLC (AUTH)
— The Fresh Market Inc. (TFM)
— Stronghold Digital Mining Inc. (SDIG)
— ForgeRock Inc. (FORG)
— On Holding AG (ONON)
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Authentic Brands Group LLC (AUTH)
Authentic Brands is a brand management firm that has partnered with shopping mall operators Simon Property Group Inc. ( SPG) and Brookfield Property Partners L.P. ( BPY) to acquire struggling brands such as Aeropostale, Brooks Brothers and Forever 21. Authentic also owns Lucky Brands and Juicy Couture.
While other brand owners have been selling off assets to shore up their balance sheets, Authentic has been expanding its holdings. In June, the company acquired Izod, Van Heusen, Arrow and Geoffrey Beene in a $220 million deal.
Investors are still waiting on an update from Authentic since it first filed its IPO paperwork with regulators back on July 6. The company reported that its net income grew from $45 million in 2016 to $211 million in 2020, while revenue grew from $165 million to $489 million in the same period. Authentic is reportedly seeking an IPO valuation in the $10 billion range.
Authentic has not yet announced an official IPO date, but the stock could begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker AUTH sometime in September.
The Fresh Market Inc. (TFM)
Gourmet grocery The Fresh Market has a long, unique relationship with Wall Street. The company first went public back in 2010 but struggled to compete with Kroger Co. ( KR), Whole Foods and other high-growth grocery chains.
In 2016, Apollo Global Management Inc. ( APO) took The Fresh Market private in a $1.36 buyout deal that valued the stock at only about a 30% premium to its IPO price six years earlier.
Apollo has now spent five years restructuring The Fresh Market’s business and preparing it to go public once again. The company officially filed for an IPO on July 16, aiming to raise up to $100 million. Renaissance Capital said the initial $100 million cap is likely just a placeholder and said The Fresh Market IPO could actually raise up to $250 million.
The Fresh Market reported $1.9 billion in revenue for the 12 months ending in April 2021. Investors are still waiting on an IPO update, but the stock could begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker TFM sometime in September.
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Stronghold Digital Mining Inc. (SDIG)
Stronghold Digital Mining is a cryptocurrency mining business that is currently focused on Bitcoin. The company wholly owns and operates about 1,800 crypto asset mining computers.
Cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed since the beginning of 2020 as more young retail traders grow concerned about inflation in fiat currencies.
At this point, Stronghold’s mining business is relatively small. The company reported just $7 million in revenue for the first 12 months ending on March 31, 2021. However, Stronghold has reportedly entered into three definitive agreements to purchase another 27,300 mining computers, deals that could potentially increase its total mining computer count by more than 1,500%.
Stronghold filed its IPO paperwork on July 27, and investors are still waiting on an official listing timeline. Stronghold plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker SDIG sometime soon.
ForgeRock Inc. (FORG)
ForgeRock is an enterprise identity management platform that allows customers to secure and manage the identities of customers, employees and partners. The ForgeRock platform supports more than 60,000 access transactions per customer per second and more than 3 billion total identities.
ForgeRock filed IPO paperwork on Aug. 23. In the filing, the company said it generated $157 million in revenue for the 12 months ending on June 30, 2021, up 30% from the year before. ForgeRock also reported a net loss of $20 million during that period, down from a $36 million loss a year ago.
ForgeRock said it plans to raise up to $100 million in its IPO at a valuation as high as $4 billion, according to Bloomberg. The company was reportedly valued at just $730 million as of its last fundraising round in 2020.
ForgeRock plans to list on the NYSE under the ticker FORG but has not yet announced an official IPO date.
[SEE: 6 of the Best Blockchain Stocks and ETFs to Buy in 2021.]
On Holding AG (ONON)
On Holding is a Swiss running shoe and athletic apparel company. On was founded in 2010 and has generated 85% compound annual revenue growth since its inception.
Tennis champion Roger Federer invested in On back in 2019 and recently partnered with the company to develop the Roger Pro tennis shoe.
On filed its IPO paperwork on Aug. 23 and reported $616 million in revenue for the 12 months ending on June 30, 2021. Net sales in the six months leading up to that date were up 85%. Athletic shoe sales surged in 2020 as many people switched to outdoor exercise due to gym closures.
In April, Reuters reported that On could seek an IPO valuation of between $4 billion and $6 billion. The company was valued at nearly $2 billion during its most recent funding round.
On does not yet have an official IPO date, but the company plans to list on the NYSE under the ticker ONON.
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5 IPO Stocks to Watch in September originally appeared on usnews.com
