Which were the hottest global tech IPOs in 2021?

Companies are compelled to employ technology to rethink virtually every aspect of their business as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The adoption of digital technologies has sped up with changes in the ways businesses operate. Subsequently, funding for digital initiatives has risen with consumers and companies moving towards online platforms.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted several businesses, but a few tech giants managed to secure big IPOs amid work-from-home environment.

Image Source: © Maxxyustas | Megapixl.com

IPO is a process of offering shares of a private entity to public in a new stock issue. Purchasing shares in a firm that has recently gone public might allow investors to get a head-start on a stock that is expected to rise in value.

However, while IPOs have a lot of potential positives, not all new publicly traded firms are worth investing and even those that are, might have their share values fluctuate after their initial public offering.

ALSO READ: What is an IPO? Why does a company go public?

Amid this backdrop, let’s dive into some of the biggest tech IPOs of 2021.

Coinbase

Coinbase is a US-based firm founded in June 2021. It operates as a crypto exchange platform, where new digital currencies can be transacted by traders, consumers, and merchants.

To Know More, Read: Coinbase Valuation Tops US$100 Billion on IPO Debut

Coinbase went public through direct listing route on 14 April. The stock began trading at US$381, valuing the crypto exchange close to US$100 billion at this price. The reference price was set by NASDAQ at US$250 per share, which served as a benchmark and not the actual buy price for investors. Coinbase ended the day at a closing price of US$328.28, giving it an initial market cap of US$85.8 billion.

SentinelOne

SentinelOne is a US-based cybersecurity company that provides endpoint protection to organisations against cyber threats and attacks. The cybersecurity firm’s shares ended the market session up by more than 20% at US$42.5 in its debut on NYSE on 30 June 2021, valuing the company at $10 billion. The share price was well above its target range of US$31-US$32.

The firm raised US$1.2 billion at an estimated valuation of US$8.9 billion, making it the highest-valued cybersecurity IPO in history. The IPO topped CrowdStrike's $6.7 billion market debut in 2019 and prior era's cyber defense IPO major winner McAfee.

Sprinklr

Sprinklr provides enterprise software for all customer-facing functions. It began as a social media management tool for businesses but evolved into a full-stack customer experience SaaS platform.

Source: ©Jojojojo    | Megapixl.com

Sprinklr raised US$266 million from its IPO in June but the IPO was reduced from its previously marketed range of US$18-US$20 per share to US$16 per share.

Confluent

Confluent is a software firm that provides a new category of data infrastructure that permits firms to effortlessly access data as real-time streams. The firm’s shares soared 25% in its NASDAQ debut in June, offering the company a market cap of US$11.4 billion.

ALSO READ: Global IPO market is on fire; Q1 proceeds surge 529%

Confluent raised US$828 million in the IPO, by selling 23 million shares at US$36 each on 24 June 2021, above its target range of US$29 to US$33.

ZipRecruiter Inc

ZipRecruiter Inc is an online employment marketplace for employers and job hunters.

The firm made a debut on NYSE on 26 May, with the stock opening at US$20 per share (up from the reference price of $18 per share), valuing the company at US$2.7 billion.

Monday.com

Monday.com is a work management platform, which permits companies to form project management tools. The firm completed its IPO on 10 June, raising US$574 million at a valuation of $7.5 billion.

DO READ: Is it good to invest in an IPO?

The Company had set a price of US$155 per share and the share opened at US$173.14 on the first trading day and went as high as US$182 per share.

Squarespace

Squarespace permits users to create websites from scratch with low costs and easy-to-use templates. The firm had raised US$300 million in March, valuing the firm at US$10 billion. It went public via a direct listing on NYSE on 19 May but shares plunged by 13% to US$43.65 on the first day of trading.

SUSE

SUSE is a German-based software firm, founded in 1992, which makes and sells Linux products to business customers.

The firm had priced its IPO at EUR30 per share but its shares opened at a lower price of EUR29.5 . However, the stock rose to EUR30.39 per share on 20 May, giving it a market cap of nearly US$6.1 billion.

Coursera

Coursera is a US-based online course provider, which offers online courses, certifications and degrees in many subjects.

DO READ: This IPO raised over $29 billion, plus other biggest global IPOs of all time

It launched on NYSE on 31 March and closed at US$45 per share, up 36% from its initial offering price, valuing the business at US$5.9 billion.

PensionBee

PensionBee is a leading pension provider that combines all old pensions into one new online plan.

The firm held its IPO on LSE on 21 April with shares priced at 165 pence, which was in the company’s target range of 155-175 pence. Its debut valued it at GBP 365 million at the time of admission with share price stable at 165 pence at the time of publication.