Initial public offerings or IPOs are known as a great way for investors to get great returns in a relatively short time. On average, they can bring investors 40% within the first 3 months. Once the initial funding stages are out of the way, IPOs can be a great way for companies to raise more capital and continue their growth. After two record-breaking years of IPO activity in the US, the number of companies going public in 2022 dropped dramatically. Some IPOs have been postponed or even canceled. There are still companies going public, and even though most of them don’t do very well there are still profits to be made. If you’ve been following this space, there’s been a bit of a trend for Hong Kong IPOs, so you may have wondered “is GigaCloud publicly traded?” Read on to find out about GigaCloud stock IPO and all the important information about GigaCloud IPO date and price.
GigaCloud History
GigaCloud Technology is a provider of end-to-end B2B ecommerce solutions for large parcel merchandise such as furniture, home appliances, and fitness equipment. The company is based in Hong Kong and operates globally.
The GigaCloud Marketplace, the company’s B2B ecommerce platform was launched in January 2019 and provided functionality for selling furniture, later adding home appliances and fitness equipment.
According to the company prospectus, the Marketplace “seamlessly connects manufacturers, primarily in Asia, with resellers, primarily in the U.S., Asia and Europe, to execute cross-border transactions with confidence, speed and efficiency.”
As of March 2022, GigaCloud had 21 warehouses in the US, UK, Germany and Japan.
GigaCloud Technology generated a revenue of $414.2 million and net income of $29.3 million in the 2021 calendar year. The platform reached 410 active merchants and 3,782 clients and a trading volume of $438 million.
The company’s short path to profitability appealed to investors and soon enough everyone began asking, “when is GigaCloud going public?”
On July 22, 2022, GigaCloud filed the paperwork for an IPO with Aegis Capital Corp. as the main bookkeeper. Read on to find out about GigaCloud IPO 2022 and other key info.
GigaCloud Public Listing Key Data and IPO Date
GigaCloud IPO Date: August 17, 2022
Ticker: GCT
Exchange: Nasdaq
IPO share price: $12.25
Valuation at IPO: $3 billion
Market cap (9/29/22): $461.8 million
CEO: Larry Lei Wu
Category: Software, Ecommerce
GigaCloud launched its IPO on the Nasdaq on August 17, 2022 with the stock symbol GCT.
The launch was originally planned for August 18 but was moved one day forward. The GigaCloud IPO price was set at $12.25, at the top of its range and the company increased the number of available shares to 2.94 million, up from 2.45 million shares as stated initially. The IPO ended up raising $36 million.
The price went up over 70%, reaching an intraday high of $21.22 and closed at $15.69. A few days later, on August 21 the stock rose rapidly and closed at $48.01, the following day it reached its highest intraday price of $62 but closed lower, at $41.41. Since then the stock price has been falling and just over a month after their IPO date the stock price retreated below the original price. The stock currently trades at $11.34 (as of 9/30/22).
So What About Investing Now?
The GigaCloud IPO is a textbook example of how investors can make a quick buck on IPOs but it’s crucial to sell at the right time unless you really believe in the company’s future. Even then it might be a good idea to secure the quick returns, sell high and buy later at a lower price.
Now that the first rally is out of the way, investors should think carefully whether they want to invest in GCT. The B2B ecommerce industry is an interesting market, especially considering Asia as a key manufacturing hub. Transporting bulky items such as furniture has always been a pain point for businesses, and GigaCloud provides tools that make things more simple and efficient by bringing together the two key parties — manufacturers of bulky goods and resellers in Asia, US and Europe.
Gigacloud makes international shipments more efficient, which enabled businesses to increase their overall transaction volume by consolidating
The truth is while it’s fun to play a bit with investments like this, it’s hard to guess which one will do well and when. If you’re into more risky investments, don’t go over 5-10% of your overall investment budget.
What we see from the current market is stock picking and IPOs are not as effective as having a diversified portfolio of stocks and ETFs. Check out Thematic Trading Fractional (TTFs) from Gainy. These are curated stock collections around a specific theme that you like or believe in or a investment strategy like Monthly Dividend Portfolio or Inflation-Proof Stocks.
Check out our IPO section to look at other scheduled IPOs. If you want to find companies that match your interests, investment goals and portfolio, try Gainy for some great IPO investment ideas, as well as established blue-chip companies and a variety of other assets.
FAQ
Is GigaCloud a public company?
Yes, the GigaCloud stock IPO date was August 17, 2022. The Hong Kong based B2B ecommerce company went public and was listed on the Nasdaq with the stock symbol GCT.
Is GigaCloud a SPAC?
GigaCloud launched a traditional IPO instead of merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). These are black-check companies created for the purpose of merging with a company to help go public. This makes the IPO process cheaper and easier but has its downsides like giving up equity and are often structured to benefit the shareholders and external investors over the business itself.