eToro's Big Bet: Can This Trading Platform Win Over Wall Street?

eToro, a trading platform that's been expanding into cryptocurrency, has set its IPO price at $52 per share. This move comes as the company gauges investor interest in new market offerings. The company, based in Israel, managed to raise close to $310 million by selling nearly 6 million shares. This deal values the business at approximately $4. 2 billion. Initially, eToro had planned to sell shares between $46 and $50 each. Additionally, almost 6 million more shares are being sold by current investors. The IPO market seemed to be on the mend when President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. This was after a long period of low activity due to rising interest rates and inflation worries. CoreWeave's successful March debut gave hope to other IPO hopefuls like eToro, Klarna, and StubHub. However, uncertainty over tariffs caused a temporary halt in these plans. eToro filed for an IPO in March but put those plans on hold due to market volatility caused by tariff concerns. Klarna and StubHub did the same. eToro's upcoming Nasdaq debut, under the ticker symbol ETOR, could signal whether the public market is ready to embrace risk. Meanwhile, other companies like Hinge Health and Chime are also making moves in the IPO space. Hinge Health, a digital physical therapy company, has started its IPO roadshow and aims to raise up to $437 million. Chime, a fintech company, has filed its prospectus with the SEC. Another trading app, Webull, merged with a special-purpose acquisition company in April. This move allowed Webull to go public without the traditional IPO process. eToro was founded in 2007 by brothers Yoni and Ronen Assia, along with David Ring. The platform competes with the likes of Robinhood and generates revenue through trading fees, including spreads on buy and sell orders, and non-trading activities like withdrawals and currency conversion. Last year, eToro's net income saw a significant jump, increasing almost thirteenfold to $192. 4 million from $15. 3 million the previous year. The company has been focusing on its crypto business, with revenue from crypto assets more than tripling to over $12 million in 2024. Crypto contributed to one-quarter of its net trading income last year, up from 10% the prior year. This isn't eToro's first attempt at going public. In 2022, the company abandoned plans to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) due to a sharp downturn in equity markets. The deal would have valued the company at over $10 billion. CEO Yoni Assia had previously stated that eToro was still aiming for a market debut but was evaluating the right opportunity. The company has been building relationships with exchanges, including the Nasdaq. eToro's prospectus reveals that BlackRock has shown interest in purchasing $100 million in shares at the IPO price. The company plans to sell 5 million shares in the offering, with existing investors and executives selling another 5 million. Underwriters for the deal include Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and UBS.