Source: Business Insider
Online mattress company Casper , which filed for an initial public offering last week, could find it hard to complete its IPO, business experts told Business Insider. Wall Street has soured on unicorns , or startups valued at $1 billion or more, that lose money. Casper is losing money, thanks to high marketing, administrative, and return costs. But the company’s valuation could also hinder its IPO; comparable public companies that are actually profitable are valued far less on a price-to-sales basis. “They all want to pitch themselves as tech companies,” Synovus’ Dan Morgan said. “To me, this isn’t a tech company. I hate to tell you, you’re just an online marketer that sells mattresses.” Click here for more BI Prime stories . Wall Street may not end up being a friendly place for Casper. There’s a good chance that the company’s bid to go public will meet with a chilly reception from public investors, business experts told Business Insider. WeWork’s aborted initial public offering and the poor performance of many of the high-profile startups that completed their offerings last year could dampen demand for shares in yet-another money losing and arguably overvalued young company, they said. “I would refer to Casper’s IPO as ‘Casper’s possible IPO,'” said Robert Hendershott, an associate finance professor at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. “If WeWork is any sign, it’s going to be very hard for them to go public.” Casper filed for a public offering last week.
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