Morning Report: Alteryx Proves The Enterprise IPO Window Is Open

Morning Report: After AppDynamics’ massive pre-IPO exit and enthusiastic market receptions to Snap and Mulesoft, Alteryx manages a modest debut.

Today, Alteryx began trading as a public company after selling 9 million shares of its equity for $14, the highest end of its proposed range. In morning trading, the firm is currently up $1.62, or 11.57 percent.

That the company priced strongly and is north in early trading is positive At the same time, Alteryx’s IPO represents the most modest technology debut result of the year.

In fact, compared to the stunning valuation that Snap commanded despite staggering losses, or the revenue multiple that AppDynamics managed to snag while not going public, or Mulesoft’s over-range pricing and large pop, Alteryx’s results nearly seems downright conservative. But only when compared to outliers.

Treading back to the numbers, Alteryx’s market cap is a nudge over $905 million according to CNBC. That figure stacked against the company’s 2016 revenue result of $85.79 million gives the firm a revenue multiple of 10.5. That is nearly precisely double the price-sales multiple that Box currently commands: 5.23.

We can yammer about the differing growth rates that the two firms sport and how that should and does impact their revenue multiples, but Alteryx’s market cap shows that investor enthusiasm for its equity is strong (at least for today).

For still-unprofitable enterprise software shops growing over 50 percent per year at around the $100 million revenue mark, the IPO window is open—provided your gross margins are solid and GAAP losses aren’t tracking your revenue.

And if that bar sounds too high for companies to muster to get out the door, what sort of companies were people building all this time when money was ample?

Today in the Crunchbase Daily:

Amazon said to buy Souq for $650M

• Amazon.com is acquiring Souq, the leading online shopping site in the Arab world, for $650 million in a bid to boost its Middle East business, TechCrunch reports. Dubai-based Souq previously raised more than $400 million from private investors, reportedly securing a valuation of $1 billion in its last funding round a year ago.

Alteryx shares rise in IPO

• Alteryx, a provider of enterprise data analytics software, priced shares for its IPO at $14, the top of the projected range, raising $126 million. Shares of the Irvine, Calif.-based company were up about 20 percent in early trading this morning.

E-cig funding vaporizes as cannabis gains clout

• Funding for startups in the e-cigarette space seems to have disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Not a single company that mentioned tobacco, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in its Crunchbase profile raised a disclosed round in the past year, according to an analysis of recent funding. By contrast, at least 45 self-described cannabis companies did.