Weiss IPO Scores

IPO Score Definitions: 

  

I    Investable. While attempting to value any IPO is highly speculative, our analysis suggests that this company is in a better position than many others in bringing its stock public for the first time. We rank this company’s IPO as “Investable” due to higher than normal scoring in regard to its business (sales, profits, growth, reinvestment, debt and industry type, for example), key people (management and investor track record) and certain attractive features of the IPO itself (size of the deal, initial stock performance). On average, companies with this rank tend to increase in value, both over the shorter and longer term. 

  

I – AC   Investable – Added Caution. We view the outlook for this IPO as mixed, with some attractive business (sales, profits, growth, reinvestment, debt or industry type, for example), personnel (management or investors) and/or deal features (size of the deal, initial stock performance), but also some challenges. These features place it in the middle of the IPO pack, ranked “Investable – Added Caution”, meaning that it’s harder for us to feel confident about which way the company’s stock will ultimately go. Our research suggests stock sales with this rank typically have better-than-even opportunity for modest, short-term upside, but are often not worth the increased risk of holding on a long-term basis, where large gains tend to be rare. 

  

NI    Not Investable. This IPO’s prospects face more challenges than most, and based on the performance of companies with IPOs similarly positioned to this one, we believe there is a stronger likelihood than not that the company’s shares will decline, both over the near- and longer-term. We base this view on the company’s poor fundamentals (sales, profits, growth, reinvestment, debt and industry type, for example), personnel (management or investors), unhelpful aspects of the IPO itself (such as deal size or initial stock performance), or a combination of all three factors. Additionally, an IPO might score well on a number of inputs, but if its initial trading volume does not exceed a minimum floor, we rank it Not Investable. While circumstances can and do change, for the time being, this stock appears to be a poor investment risk. 

  

Preliminary. Because we consider a company’s initial, post-IPO stock performance as a factor in its final IPO score, our score of all pending IPOs should be considered preliminary until their stock officially begins trading. Once shares begin to trade, we complete our evaluation, and any marking indicating that a score is Preliminary is removed. Scores without such a mark should be considered final.