Olo prices IPO sharply above its target, valuing company as high as $4.6B

Published March 17, 2021

A big story in the finance world this morning is that the Nasdaq composite index lost ground in pre-market trading while bond yields rose. The concern is that inflation could rise, which led to bonds selling off and falling valuations for expensive stocks. So, tech stocks were broadly lower this morning.

Unlike last night, when New York-based restaurant software company Olo priced its IPO at $25 per share, sharply above its raised IPO target price range.

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Today, we’re checking in on the price investors paid for a block of Olo shares before it began trading. The resulting valuation and its new revenue multiples will help us answer several questions.

First, how hot is the market for high-growth tech shares that also feature profitability? And, second, is Olo pricing ahead of, or behind, known comps? If the latter is true, it could point to a cooling enthusiasm among public investors for tech IPOs, even if the headline numbers coming from the Olo IPO are impressive.

Then we’re going to chat about Coinbase’s latest S-1/A filing, which helps provide a bit of guidance regarding how its direct listing is scooting along.

Ready to get caught up on the public-private divide that the most successful startups cross? Let’s get into it!

Is Olo’s IPO pricing aggressive, neutral or a letdown?

As a quick reminder, Olo initially targeted a $16 to $18 per-share IPO price interval. That was raised, as expected, to $20 to $22 per share. Pricing at $25, then, is a strong 56.25% greater per-share value than the low end of the company’s first estimate.

As Olo featured rapid growth (an acceleration in year-over-year revenue from 59.4% in 2019 to 94.2% in 2020), and GAAP profits (a 2019-era net loss of $8.3 million became 2020 net income of $3.1 million) in its IPO filings, the first price range it rolled out felt a bit light. The second, however, felt more appropriate.

At $25 per share, we have to do new math. Using a simple share count inclusive of the company’s underwriters’ option, Olo is worth $3.62 billion. That figure swells to $4.6 billion when a fully diluted valuation is calculated, per IPO watch group Renaissance Capital.