Anthropic IPO Set for Nov. 19 as Nvidia Scandal Rattles Tech
Anthropic plans to list on the Nasdaq as ANT on November 19 at a valuation of up to $1.4 trillion. A market strategist says Nvidia's earnings and a scandal around its CEO could weigh on the debut, and compares the deal with SpaceX's June listing.
Anthropic plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker ANT on November 19, with a valuation of up to $1.4 trillion. Investors are asking whether the Anthropic IPO will create a disturbance in the wider U.S. stock market, as SpaceX's did.
The listing arrives while technology stocks are trading lower. Nvidia Corp. is also facing a scandal involving its chief executive, Jensen Huang.
Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, said the timing is awkward. Nvidia reports quarterly results on November 17, and Huang may face questions from Congress. Those events could pressure the technology sector and weigh on pricing and demand for Anthropic's shares.
Woods called the Nvidia backdrop "not what Anthropic needed right now." He does not think "it will have a dramatic impact."
A lower valuation
Anthropic filed plans for a valuation of up to $1.4 trillion. That is below the roughly $2 trillion discussed months ago. Woods said he had been thinking $1.5 trillion and is not sure where the original figure came from.
He read the cut as a welcome sign. The company had earlier said it wanted to be bigger than SpaceX and stage the biggest IPO in the world.
"Now things have shifted and now they just want to get this done and they want to launch before Thanksgiving," Woods said.
He said Anthropic is at "the point of no return." In his words, "maybe the retail investor will pay off because it will price lower than it really should have."
Woods also said he is wary of any company whose S-1 filing, the registration document for an IPO, says it could cause the end of humanity as we know it. "These are not things that I really want to hear in an S1 filing," he said.
The SpaceX comparison
SpaceX went public in June and drew strong demand from retail investors. Woods said it was handled "almost perfectly." Shares got the post-IPO pop, then sold off.
He said SpaceX also overcame big fears about future insider share unlocks, when company insiders become free to sell. Its IPO priced under $2 trillion after originally planning that valuation. That left room for investors to buy below what many saw as the company's worth.
Woods said he is not sure Anthropic's structure matches SpaceX's. Insider selling could become a topic again for the new IPO, he said.
Some investors may also wait for a better entry point after watching SpaceX shares fall back from their first-day gain, according to Woods.
"The retail investor, they've been waiting for this for a while, but maybe they're a little skittish," Woods said.
Take the quizWhat Kind of Holiday Spender Are You? Take the Black Friday QuizStart →- 1Column: 4 Reasons to Eat Dark Chocolate, Dietitians Say
- 2Mavericks Surfers Race to California for Waves Near 50 Feet
- 3Meghan Markle Plans US Return to See Mother After Father’s Arrest
- 4Chrissie Swan, 52, Tears Up Over Secret Surprise While Recovering
- 5NYC Medical Examiner Has Not Determined Cause of Death of Beau Rose Jessup
Lifestyle7 Signs Your Social Battery Is Running Low (and Why You Keep Cancelling Plans)
Lifestyle · Food & HealthThanksgiving Food Safety: How Long Leftovers Last and the Safe Turkey Temperature
Lifestyle7 Quiet Habits of Emotionally Intelligent People, According to Psychologists
LifestylePeople Who Don’t Like Celebrating Their Birthday Often Share These 7 Traits
