Affirm doubles after starting to trade despite strong IPO pricing After pricing at $49, Affirm is now worth more than $99 per shareToday shares of Affirm, a buy-now-pay-later unicorn, started trading above $90 per share, far above its $49 per-share IPO price, a figure that was already miles above the company’s early expectations.
The pop comes after Affirm raised its pricing range earlier this week, to $41 to $44 per share, up from an initial range of $33 to $38 per share.
To see the company double from its raised price implies strong demand for its shares, a thin float, or both.
Those companies’ debuts were so strong that Roblox delayed its IPO, later swapping a traditional IPO for a direct listing to get around the pricing issue.
Today’s IPO shows that the same dynamics that were at play in those IPOs have persisted into 2021.
Affirm’s first-day performance will certainly raise eyebrows from regular critics of the traditional IPO process.
If its share price is still as high in a month as it is today, perhaps it was as underpriced as some will claim.
FintechAffirm’s pricing brings a green splash to a busy week for fintech giants.
While the fallen deal could have a chilling effect on fintech startups, Plaid told TechCrunch that it saw 60% customer growth in 2020, bringing it to more than 4,000 clients.
Some tweets here to give you a sense of the momentum around fintech right now:Imo, give a few years, they'll acquire Visa.
Affirm IPO!
— Sar Haribhakti (@sarthakgh) January 13, 2021Affirm’s pop and Plaid’s forward-looking attitude show that the exit market for fintech feels both optimistic and energetic.
Source