IPOs are essential in a functioning stock market – they bring in new blood, expand the investment opportunities, and provide a clear indicator of the market’s health. And this year, that indicator is trending upward.
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It’s no secret that IPO activity fell off a cliff as 2021 ended, and remained slow through the next two years. Last year, however, the numbers began to revive as more companies started going public. And the acceleration continues this year. Despite lingering uncertainties due to the springtime market volatility and policy concerns around President Trump’s tariffs, Wall Street is currently seeing a year-over-year increase in the number of IPOs and in the total funds raised.
The second-quarter numbers tell the story. During 2Q25, there were 59 IPOs in the US, and they raised an aggregate of $15.02 billion. Those numbers compare well to the 45 IPOs conducted and $11.23 billion raised during 2Q24.
Analyst Chris Brendler, from Rosenblatt, is watching this year’s IPOs – and he’s also pointing out the stocks that investors should investigate more closely. For now, he’s picked out two to rate as Buys – but does Wall Street agree? We used the TipRanks’ database to find out.
Miami International Holdings (MIAX)
First up is a financial tech company, Miami International Holdings. This firm, which is actually based in New Jersey, provides access to a global exchange group in the US and international capital markets. Miami International, which goes by MIAX in the business, operates fully electronic trading exchanges in the US equity options markets, the US stock markets, the futures markets, and in international stock markets.
MIAX has built this array of trading exchanges on a proprietary technology base. The company boasts that it can provide traders with consistently low latency and customizable risk protections across its trading platforms, and it supports the trading operations with a proven customer service center. MIAX was founded in 2007 and is known as an innovator in the digital trading world, with a broad range of data-based products and services on tap to meet the needs of today’s market traders.
Financial trading is inherently international, and MIAX keeps offices in several US locations – Princeton, Miami, Chicago, Minneapolis – as well as offshore in Bermuda and Guernsey. The company’s exchanges are SEC-licensed, and the largest of them, MIAX Options, has been operating since 2012. In addition to its MIAX exchanges, the company owns and operates the Miami International Securities Exchange, the Bermuda Stock Exchange, and the International Stock Exchange.
MIAX went public in August of this year, when its stock opened for trading on Wall Street on August 14. The IPO had been priced at $23 per share, compared to the expected range of $19 to $21, and the stock actually opened at a price of $31. The company made 15 million shares available in the IPO and raised $396.75 million in gross proceeds. Since the IPO, the stock has gained over 18%.
Turning to Chris Brendler and the Rosenblatt view, we find the analyst upbeat on MIAX, particularly on its contribution to technology in the financial services industry. Brendler writes of this new stock, “Technology is revolutionizing financial services, and we believe MIAX is reinventing the US options market. With its competitors hindered by legacy technology and less flexible corporate structures, MIAX market share has grown from 7% in 2015 to 16% in 2025. In our view, the company’s remarkable success has been due to combination of superior technology, product innovation, and market tailwinds — all of which we expect to continue. With multiple additional growth vectors expected to help sustain ~20% top line growth and significant margin expansion potential, we think the stock is undervalued.”
Quantifying his stance, Brendler gives MIAX a Buy rating, with a $50 price target that suggests a one-year upside potential of 36%. (To watch Brendler’s track record, click here)
Overall, MIAX has earned a Moderate Buy consensus rating from the analysts, based on 7 reviews, with a split of 4 Buys and 3 Holds. The stock is currently trading at $36.81, and its average target price of $40 implies it will gain 9% over the coming year. (See MIAX stock forecast)
Bullish (BLSH)
Next up is another fintech, Bullish. This company provides a global digital asset trading platform, focused on institutional investors. Bullish provides the market infrastructure and up-to-date information services that these investors need, through a set of regulated trading exchanges. Prominent among these is the eponymous Bullish Exchange, which focuses on digital assets spot and derivatives trading. The Bullish Exchange is regulated in Germany, Hong Kong, and Gibraltar, giving it a global reach and relevance in several leading regulatory regimes.
Bullish was launched in 2021, and in its few years of active operations, the company has amassed a solid reputation in international cryptocurrency trading. The company has a powerful ‘war chest,’ a reserve of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various stablecoins, currently valued at $3.5 billion, putting it in position to challenge industry leader Coinbase for dominance in the institutional crypto trading market.
Crypto trading has become big business – Bitcoin, the flagship crypto, is currently trading for over $115,000 – and Bullish has grown alongside it. The company’s recent IPO, held in August, reflects the popularity of cryptocurrencies.
To start with, Bullish priced its IPO at $37 per share, with 30 million shares being made available. When the stock began trading on August 13, the shares opened at $90. That first day was volatile, and the stock hit as high as $118 before finding its closing price of $68. When the IPO closed, Bullish stated that it had realized ‘aggregate gross proceeds’ exceeding $1 billion. Since the opening shot, however, shares in BLSH have retreated by 40% yet the company still boasts a market cap of $7.8 billion.
Rosenblatt’s Brendler sees plenty of reasons to buy into Bullish now. He notes that the company’s scale puts it in a good position to benefit from current political and economic conditions.
“We’re bullish on crypto as the dramatic improvement in the US political environment has become a huge tailwind for the sector and is driving increasing institutional adoption. As one of the largest regulated institutional exchanges, we believe Bullish is well positioned to capitalize on this trend. Impressively, the company has scaled to over $0.5T in annual volume without the benefit of access to US clients, and we expect the upcoming US launch to be a significant positive catalyst. Bullish is also uniquely positioned to benefit from the post-GENIUS Act opportunity in stablecoins, adding material recurring revenues outside the more volatile trading business,” Brendler opined.
Looking ahead, the analyst adds, “Combined with key media assets that both diversify and complement the core business as well as provide the potential to add high-margin retail trading, we see material upside to consensus estimates.”
These comments support the Rosenblatt analyst’s Buy rating here, while his $60 price target indicates his confidence in a 12-month upside potential of 12%.
The Street’s view on BLSH includes 4 Buys and 6 Holds, giving the stock its Moderate Buy consensus rating. The shares are currently trading for $53.39 and they have an average price target of $56.37; together, these numbers point toward a gain of 5.5% on the one-year horizon. (See BLSH stock forecast)
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.