Ithaca share price sets sights on £3bn IPO valuation

In today’s top stories, Ithaca is looking to raise £310m when it lists on the LSE, in what could be the capital’s largest IPO. EV battery start-up Britishvolt has averted collapse but is still far from its gigafactory ambitions, and Tesla has shutdown its flagship showroom in Beijing. Meanwhile, US ETFs are shrugging off the sell-off across Wall Street, having attracted $500bn in the year-to-date.

Ithaca looks to raise £310m

UK oil and gas producer Ithaca Energy is looking to pull in £310m for its London listing, below the $1bn it originally hoped to raise. The company is looking to price its shares between 250p and 310p. The top end of the range would give it a valuation of £3.1bn and crown it the biggest IPO in the capital, while the bottom of the range would make it the second-biggest behind wind turbine maker Ming Yang Smart Energy [MYSE.LI].

EV battery start-up avoids collapse

The UK-government backed EV battery start-up Britishvolt, which once described Brexit as “excellent” for business, has averted collapse after finding a source of short-term funding. It’ll give the company a few weeks to secure a buyer or the long-term funding that will be needed to realise its lofty ambition of building a gigafactory in Northumberland. Back in February, it entered a strategic partnership with Glencore [GLEN.L] on battery recycling initiatives.

Rumour causes rally and fade in China

An unverified social media post about a relaxation of Xi Jingping’s strict zero-Covid policy caused Chinese equities to spike on Tuesday before pulling back as investors realised that it was just a rumour. It could be a sign from investors hopeful the market rout is coming to an end. “At the end of the day, it’s just that people are eager to buy the selloff,” Du Kejun, partner at Beijing Gelei Asset Management Centre, told Bloomberg.

Tesla closes Beijing showroom

A combination of Covid-19 outbreaks forcing shops to close and soaring rents has led Tesla [TLSA] to shutter its flagship store in Beijing. China is the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s second biggest market and last month announced it would be slashing the cost of its Model 3 and Model Y cars by up to 9%. Meanwhile, EV competition is on the rise from both foreign and Chinese carmakers.

US ETFs attract $500bn year-to-date

US ETFs are shrugging off the sell-off across Wall Street marked by the S&P 500 tumbling 19.6% in the year-to-date. The funds have attracted almost $500bn in new client money this year, according to the Financial Times. Though down from the $935bn they pulled in in 2021, inflows this year will surpass the prior record of $501bn in 2020. US mutual funds, meanwhile, have seen a combined net outflow of $790bn year-to-date.

Biotech valuation opportunities

Biotech stocks have taken a beating this year following the bursting of the pandemic bubble, but lower valuations are creating new opportunities for investors. AstraZeneca [AZN.L] continues to push into rare diseases following its acquisition of Alexion at the end of 2020. Veterinary products developer Dechra Pharmaceuticals [DPH.L] is expanding in the US after buying Med-Pharmex for £221.5m. GSK [GSK.L] recently announced results from its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine trial rivalling Pfizer’s in efficacy.

Sainsbury’s faces food inflation challenge

Investors will be hoping that inflation and the rising cost-of-living aren’t eating into Sainsbury’s [SBRY.L] profits when it reports interim results today. Sales were down 2.4% in Q1, but the retailer indicated that its outlook for the full-year remained unchanged and was forecasting pre-tax profit of between £630m and £690m. This could well be revised given that food prices soared to a record 11.6% in October. Investors could be looking to the company’s fuel sales as its saving grace.