Figure Technology Jumps, Centene Surges, Oracle Cools Down

On this edition of Stock Movers:

- Figure Technology (FIGR) shares opened 44% above their IPO price after a listing raising $787.5 million. The blockchain-based credit company joins a cohort of crypto firms in embracing public markets. Figure’s shares opened at $36 each in New York, above its IPO price of $25 apiece. The opening price gives the company a market value of around $7.6 billion, based on the outstanding shares. A 2021 venture-backed funding round valued the company at $3.2 billion. The company is going public in what’s set to be the US market’s busiest week of the year in terms of IPO volume, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The forthcoming deals include Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss’ crypto exchange Gemini Space Station Inc., which prices Thursday. “Blockchain is a democratization of financial services,” Mike Cagney, Figure’s co-founder, said in a Bloomberg Television interview Thursday. As for the importance of individual investors in the offering, Cagney said the firm “gave retail one of the largest allocations anyone has ever done.”

- Shares of Centene (CNC) surged today after the insurer said gave upbeat views of its Medicare quality ratings and costs in its Medicaid business, positive signs for the company’s turnaround. The preliminary look at the Medicare quality scores, known as star ratings, was in-line with the company’s expectations, with a slightly higher percentage of members in four-star plans that pay bonuses, Chief Executive Officer Sarah London said Thursday at a Deutsche Bank conference. Centene also said its Medicaid business was seeing cost improvements in the second half, according to a research note from Barclays analysts who called the update “better than feared.”

- Oracle (ORCL) shares dipped today. The database-software company rallied 36% yesterday to hit a record high after they reported stellar cloud demand numbers.

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