Caris Life Sciences bumped up the pricing of its IPO to raise more than $494.1 million in its Nasdaq debut—well over the range it first proposed last week, in the vicinity of $400 million.
The Texas-based cancer testing company claimed a valuation of about $5.9 billion, while selling 23.5 million shares under the ticker "CAI" at $21 apiece. It had first offered stock between $16 and $18 before later increasing the price to between $19 and $20.
Caris also said it granted a 30-day option to underwriters to purchase up to an additional 3.5 million shares at the IPO price. The offering is expected to close June 20. This morning, the company’s founder and CEO, David Halbert, rang the Nasdaq’s opening bell.
The proceeds will bolster the nearly $170 million in funds it raised earlier this year, as the company looks to expand the commercial reach of its precision medicine platforms. Caris obtained an FDA approval last November for a multi-cancer companion diagnostic and tumor profiling test, dubbed MI Cancer Seek, which relies on whole exome and transcriptome sequencing to help match patients with specific therapies.
Its other tests include the Caris Assure liquid biopsy for treatment selection and its MI Profile tumor sequencing platform. In its IPO prospectus, the company said its global case volume grew 26% annually in 2024 and by 31% year over year in the first quarter of 2025.
Caris also reported total revenue of $412.3 million for the 2024 calendar year, up from $306.1 million the year before, alongside a net loss of $257.1 million.
Following a slowdown in medtech IPOs during the past few post-COVID years, a number have posted upsized, nine-figure offerings in the past 12 months: EEG headset maker Ceribell raised more than $180 million; Kestra Medical collected about $202 million for its wearable defibrillator; and diabetes hardware company Beta Bionics ultimately netted nearly $235 million.
Additionally, the previously public Australian transcatheter heart valve designer Anteris Technologies raised $88.8 million through a dual listing on the Nasdaq and ASX while transferring its registration to the U.S.