Digital Platforms Give Boost to IPO Index as Weekly Gains Top 3%

Two weeks of gains in this stock market kind of feels like a winning streak.

To that end, the FinTech IPO Index surged by 3.6% for the week, bringing its rally in the still-young month of June to 18.6%.

And yet: The hole that’s been dug is deep, as the group is down 32% year to date.

If there’s a theme among initial public offerings (IPOs) this year — chiefly among the ones that have been recovering a bit of ground in recent sessions — it’s that platforms are gaining favor.

Not just among investors, but enterprise and individual consumers alike.

Digital wealth management platform Futu Holdings saw its shares rocket up by 30% on the week, which has brought its performance to a positive 9% on year to date.

The company posted revenues of $209.5 million, which was buoyed by a 49% increase of total registered clients to 2.9 million. The total number of paying clients was 1,326,163, an increase of 67.9% year on year. Total client assets were up 59%, the company said in its earnings release.

Double-Digit Percentage Point Gains

KE Holdings’ own 29% gains followed closely behind Futu. The company, which operates platforms centered on housing-related platforms, posted results at the very end of the month that  showed marked declines in several metrics, where revenues declined by 45%.

But the stock, as had been seen with other listings of Chinese firms, got a jolt on the heels of news that various lockdowns would be lifted.

FinTech IPO YTD Performance

And in a bit of other evidence that platforms continue to gain currency with investors trading on U.S. exchanges, OneConnect Financial Technology shares gained 19% through the week. The company announced that its board of directors has approved to upsize its share repurchase program announced on Feb. 24 by 1% of the total outstanding ordinary shares.

Marqeta shares gained 11% in the aftermath of news that the card issuing platform is partnering with global money transfer giant Western Union and will integrate into Western Union’s digital banking platform in Europe.

As noted in this space last week, the move is one that might mean that Western Union may become the biggest neobank of all.

In terms of mechanics, the announcement brings together Marqeta’s open application programming interface (API) card issuing platform while enabling Western Union to handle the workflow with real-time insights into card activity.

Read also: Western Union Signals Grand Neobank Ambitions With Marqeta Pact

Not all firms enjoyed a bounce this past week. Triterras slipped 13% through the most recent several sessions. Triterras said that it has partnered with Unqork, the leading no-code enterprise application platform to enhance Triterras’ Kratos platform. The companies said in a release that by  incorporating Unqork’s simple “drag and drop” interface, Triterras will be able to offer better efficiency and improve outcomes for both lenders and traders.