Paylocity Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY), a cloud-based provider of payroll and human capital services software designed to help companies better manage their workforce, rose 50% in its first day of trading before coming back to earth…a little.
IPOs and Paylocity
According to Renaissance Capital, IPOs are moving out of this world with new issues in 2014 up nearly 40% from their offering price. The 47 IPOs that this year has seen is nearly double that of the same time period last year and they have raised $7.7 billion, an increase of 28%, so far this year.
The IPO week began today with Paylocity. The Arlington, IL based company soared out the gates today, at one point reaching over 68% of its offering price of $17, this despite the fact that the company aggressively raised the terms of the deal. Originally, the company was planning to sell 6.7 million shares between $14 and $16 a share.
If you were lucky enough to get in on the offering, you enjoyed a day where the stock opened at $31.00 before sliding back to close at $24.04 for a gain of 41.41%. If, however, you got in late, well you know.
While biotech stocks have thus far dominated 2014’s IPOs, investors were eagerly awaiting Paylocity’s offering today to glean whether tech might be back ahead of next week’s highly anticipated IPO of King Entertainment, the makers of Candy Crush Saga and other mobile games. If Paylocity is any indication, tech is indeed back and this bodes well for A10 Networks, which makes equipment to optimize data centers. The company is expected to raise $175 million by selling 12.5 million shares at between $13 and $15 a share. King, on the other hand, is expected to raise nearly $500 million by selling 22.2 million shares at between $21 and $24 a share.
Tomorrow’s initial public offerings
Thursday sees another group of three notable offerings in a banner year for IPOs. Q2 Holdings, a provider of online banking services using a software-as-a-service platform, will begin trading tomorrow on the NYSE. It plans to raise $93 million by offering 7.8 million shares at a price range of $11 to $13.
Akebia Therapeutics, a biotech outfit out of Massachusetts with a focus on treatments for kidney disease will begin trading on the Nasdaq. It plans to raise $76 million by offering 4.9 million shares at a price range of $14 to $17.
Lastly, MediWound a company that develops products to treat severe burns and other hard-to-heal injures is looking to raise $75 million by offering 5 million shares between $14 and $16 on the Nasdaq.
