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Summary
- Snowflake netted US$ 3.4 billion in its market debut, making it the biggest ever software IPO till date.
- Kodak Stocks soared in pre-market session after it released a legal report on the recent drama surrounding the handling of stock options.
- A flurry of tech IPOs is expected between now and US presidential elections on November 3.
Canadian investors woke up to a buoyant Wednesday, lifted by the early morning gains of the TSX composite index that climbed by 0.32 per cent within the first 30 minutes of intraday session. The markets reacted positively to higher oil prices and Federal Reserve’s decision to keep low interest rates. Emerging news of Kodak stock (NYSE:KODK) and Snowflake’s bigshot IPO started trending in the Canadian markets, uplifting the mood of the investors. Let’s take a look on why these two stocks are trending today.
Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: KODK or KODK: US)
Current Stock Price: US$ 8.56
Stocks of Rochester-based Eastman Kodak soared in pre-market session on Wednesday morning after it released a legal report on the recent drama surrounding the handling of stock options to CEO Jim Continenza and board member Philippe Katz. The independent review found that Kodak mishandled and executed subpar governance in the matter, but no laws were violated, or insider trading occurred.
In July, the former camera company procured C$ 765 million COVID-related government loan to manufacture generic drugs. However, the loan was halted after reports of insider trading broke out. The allegations claimed Continenza made insider deals before the government grant was publicly announced.
What followed was a tumultuous period for this once-upon-a-time photography giant.
Kodak shares were earlier valued around US$ 3 before securing the government loan.
In 48 hours after the news of government grant went public on July 28, the scrips surged over 1100 per cent. Then crisis hit and Kodak’s stocks dropped precipitously by 80+ per cent, falling from a high of US$ 33.20 on July 29 to US$ 6.23 on September 14.
At the time of filing this story, Kodak shares had surged by over 35 per cent, trading at US$ 8.56.
The former camera giant focuses on print, packaging, publishing, manufacturing and entertainment.
Snowflake Inc (NYSE: SNOW or SNOW: US)
Current Stock Price: US$ 245
Snowflakes in September!
Cloud database vendor Snowflake has been headlining the initial public offering (IPO) news in the fall of 2020. On Tuesday, the tech firm released a statement announcing the sale of 28 million shares at US$ 120 per share.
The unicorn start-up, founded in 2012, helps blue-chip organisations evaluate and share data through its cloud platform. Snowflake has the backing of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Salesforce. Venture capital organisations like Sequoia, ICONIQ Capital, Altimeter Capital Sequoia, Redpoint Ventures and Sutter Hill also have stakes in the tech firm. Some of its clients include Domino’s, ConAgra Foods and JetBlue.
The company is currently trading on the NYSE under the symbol "SNOW".
Previously, Snowflake became one of the most valuable private tech start-ups in the world, after valued at US$ 12.5 billion.
Source: NYSE
The California-based company posted a revenue of US $242 million in the first half of 2020. Its net loss stood at US$ 171.3 million, down from US$ 177 million in 2019.
The unicorn was recently ranked as the best private cloud companies in the world by Forbes in 2020.
The Tech IPOs of 2020
The year 2019 was not that great for the tech sector following the IPO flops of Uber and Lyft, and the cascading fall of WeWork.
The year 2020 started on an optimistic note with all the big tech names prepping for their hotshot IPO debuts. That was before the pandemic. All IPO plans were put on hold as companies struggled to come out of the pandemic.
After a rocky start to 2020, the IPO scene has been slowly improving. E-commerce company BigCommerce, a Shopify rival, was among the first tech firms to launch an IPO.
A flurry of IPOs is expected between now and US presidential elections on November 3.
Apart from Snowflake, other tech IPOs set for a public debut this year are JFrog, Unity Software, Airbnb, Asana, Palantir, Instacart, DoorDash and Ant Group. While timeframe has been disclosed, media reports claim that Unity may debut on the stock markets in September.
JFrog is expected to begin trading Wednesday.
