Opening Day: Caris jumps as investors buy into ‘AI TechBio company’

Shares of Caris Life Sciences soared in their public debut last Wednesday as investors bought into the promise of the company’s business of drug research using artificial intelligence. Caris’ stock opened at $27 a share, or about 29% above the IPO price of $21 a share. With a total of about 283.6M shares outstanding after the IPO, the company had market capitalization above $7.5B in its first day of trading.

LATEST IPOS AND DIRECT LISTINGS:

• Caris Life Sciences (CAI) opened on June 18 at $27.00 after having priced 23.53M shares at $21.00. The deal priced above the $19.00-$20.00 range. BofA, Caris describes itself as a “patient-centric, next-generation AI TechBio company and precision medicine pioneer that is actively developing and commercializing innovative solutions to transform healthcare.” Caris has created the large-scale, multimodal clinico-genomic database and computing capability needed to “analyze and further unravel the molecular complexity of disease” through comprehensive molecular profiling and the application of advanced AI and machine learning algorithms at scale, the company states.
• Slide Insurance (SLDE) opened on June 18 at $21 after its IPO priced at $17 per share. Slide is a technology-enabled insurance company that says it leverages artificial intelligence and big data to “optimize and streamline every part of the insurance process.” The deal size was increased to 24M shares from 20M and priced at the high end of the $15.00-$17.00 target range.
• Enigmatig (EGG) opened on June 18 at $8.50 after the company priced 2.845M shares at $5.00. The deal size was reduced to 2.85M shares from 3.75M and priced at the high end of $4.00-$5.00 target range. Enigmatig is an international consultancy firm providing one-stop cross-border licensing solutions and related services.
• Jyong Biotech (MENS) opened on June 17 at at $15, double the IPO price of $7.50 per share. Jyong Biotech, which describes itself as “a science-driven biotechnology company based in Taiwan committed to developing and commercializing innovative and differentiated new drugs mainly specializing in the treatment of urinary system diseases” with an initial focus on the markets of the U.S., the EU and Asia, priced its initial public offering of 2,666,667 ordinary shares at a public offering price of $7.50 per share.

RECENT SPAC IPOS:

• Pioneer Acquisition I (PACH) opened at $10.01 on June 18. The special purpose acquisition company priced 22M units at $10 per unit. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “PACH” and “PACHW”, respectively.

PERFORMANCE:

Prices as of 2 pm ET on Monday, June 23 –

• Caris Life Sciences – down 76c to $26.49
• Slide Insurance – down 30c to $23.00
• Enigmatig – down 82c to $3.85
• Jyong Biotech – down 21c to $7.80

UPCOMING IPOS: Upcoming IPO and direct listings expected include Center Mobile (CTMB), Fitness Champs (FCHL), Happy City (HCHL), and Odyssey Therapeutics (ODTX).

Click here to see the upcoming IPO calendar on TipRanks.

Center Mobile has filed with the SEC for a firm commitment initial public offering of ordinary shares, via which it will be offering 3.75M ordinary shares. The company has applied to list its ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol (CTMB). R.F. Lafferty is listed as the underwriter. Its prospectus states, “We conduct all of our operations through our subsidiary in Japan, Center Mobile Japan and its subsidiary, Pay Storage… As a mobile virtual network operator, or ‘MVNO,’ we provide mobile connectivity and wireless communications services in Japan by using the infrastructure and communication system of NTT Docomo, one of the largest Japanese mobile network operators in terms of subscription market share… Because we do not own or operate a physical network or relevant appliances and equipment, we are free from related capital expenditures and, therefore, are able to focus our resources on providing competitive prices for our services against MNOs. Furthermore, in addition to the monthly fees from our customers, we are also able to generate advertising revenue through “PLAIO,” our proprietary app.”

Fitness Champs filed an initial public offering of 2M ordinary shares, with selling shareholders offering an additional 1.75M shares. The company intends to apply to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol “FCHL.” The company anticipates the initial public offering price will be between $4.00-$5.00 per share. Bancroft Capital is acting as the underwriter.

Happy City filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of 1M Class A ordinary shares of Happy City Holdings Limited, representing 14.29% of the Class A ordinary shares following completion of the offering. The company expects the initial public offering price will be between $5.00 and $7.00 per Class A share and notes it has reserved the symbol “HCHL” for purpose of listing its Class A ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Odyssey Therapeutics has filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of shares of common stock. The company has applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the trading symbol “ODTX.” The prospectus filed with the SEC states, “Odyssey is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company led by a team and board of drug hunters seeking to transform the standard of care for patients suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases… Our most advanced programs include OD-07656, a small molecule scaffolding inhibitor of receptor-interacting protein kinase 2, or RIPK2, for which we intend to commence a Phase 2a monotherapy trial for ulcerative colitis, or UC, in the first quarter of 2025 and a Phase 2a combination trial with vedolizumab in the first half of 2026, and two preclinical programs: a small molecule scaffolding inhibitor of interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 4, or IRAK4, and OD-00910, an agonistic protein therapeutic targeting tumor necrosis factor receptor 2, or TNFR2, built from camelid heavy chain variable regions, or VHH, domains.”

OTHER IPO NEWS: Crypto billionaire Justin Sun’s digital asset platform Tron is set to go public in the U.S., four months after market regulators agreed to pause a fraud investigation into several of his companies, Financial Times’ George Steer and Philip Stafford report. Tron will go public in a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment (SRM) in a deal orchestrated by Dominari Securities, a New York-based boutique investment bank with ties to Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, according to two people briefed on the matter. The new venture will buy and hold the Tron token, mimicking the tactics of Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy (MSTR), which founder Michael Saylor has turned into a leveraged bitcoin vehicle, one of the people said.

Opening Day” is The Fly’s recurring series of stories on the latest initial public offerings, their performance, and upcoming IPOs.