Digital health startup Hinge Health said on Tuesday it is targeting a valuation of up to $2.98 billion on a fully diluted basis in its initial public offering, signaling thawing of the U.S. IPO market after recent market volatility.

Financial markets have regained their footing in recent weeks as the de-escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions has rekindled expectations for a resurgence in dealmaking activity.

The San Francisco, California-based company, along with existing stockholders, plans to raise over $437 million by offering 13.7 million shares priced between $28 and $32 each.

Even at the top of its proposed range, Hinge Health’s target represents a nearly 52% reduction from the $6.2 billion valuation it fetched in the 2021 Series E round, led by Coatue Management and Tiger Global.

“Investors do expect a healthy discount to peers. Companies are often advised to start low and build interest,” said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.

While a widely expected IPO market recovery is yet to materialize, defensive sectors like healthcare have been resilient, with healthcare companies accounting for 23% of all IPOs in the first quarter 2025, according to an Ernst & Young report.

Last week, Apollo-backed Aspen Insurance’s (AHL.N), opens new tab shares rose nearly 11% in its New York Stock Exchange debut, while virtual chronic care provider Omada filed to list on Nasdaq.

Founded in 2014 by Daniel Perez and Gabriel Mecklenburg, Hinge Health’s platform leverages artificial intelligence to provide at-home musculoskeletal care, chronic pain management, and post-surgical rehabilitation.

Rising concerns over Americans’ sedentary lifestyles and dietary choices have driven demand for improved healthcare options.

Hinge Health’s revenue climbed to $123.8 million in the first quarter of 2025, a nearly 50% increase from the previous year. The company also reported a profit of $17 million compared to a loss of over $26 million in the previous year.

Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital, and BofA Securities are the lead underwriters for the offering.

The company will list on the NYSE under the symbol “HNGE”.

Sea (NYSE:SE) has recently reported strong earnings for Q1 2025, showing significant revenue growth and a return to profitability. These impressive financial results seem to correlate with the company’s stock price surge of 31% over the past month. The broader market also experienced growth, rising by 3.9% over the last week and 12% over the year. While Sea’s earnings announcement likely added positive momentum to its price movement, the general market uptrend during this period also supported the increase, aligning Sea’s performance with broader market optimism for continued earnings growth.

The recent announcement of Sea’s strong Q1 2025 earnings, which showed substantial revenue growth and a swing to profitability, aligns with a notable share price increase of 31% over the past month. This surge in share price has substantially impacted the longer-term performance, with the company’s total return including dividends reaching a very large percentage of 132.61% over the last year. This puts Sea’s performance well above both the broader US market return of 11.6% and the US Entertainment industry return of 52.7% over the same period, highlighting significant investor optimism and confidence in the company’s future prospects.

This positive financial result is expected to support the company’s revenue and earnings forecasts, driven by geographical expansion, particularly in Brazil, and the integration of AI in their operations. Analysts are forecasting a revenue growth rate of 19.0% annually over the next three years, with profit margins anticipated to rise to 10.9% by 2028. Despite this optimistic outlook, challenges such as competitive pressures and economic risks could influence these projections. Given Sea’s current share price of US$142.47 and the analyst consensus price target of US$154.33, reflecting a 7.7% potential upside, the recent surge suggests the stock is approaching its estimated fair value, warranting careful consideration by investors.

The stock was sluggish on the back of Westlake Corporation’s (NYSE:WLK) recent earnings report. Along with the solid headline numbers, we think that investors have some reasons for optimism.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand Westlake’s profit beyond the statutory numbers, it’s important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit was reduced by US$75m due to unusual items. While deductions due to unusual items are disappointing in the first instance, there is a silver lining. We looked at thousands of listed companies and found that unusual items are very often one-off in nature. And, after all, that’s exactly what the accounting terminology implies. Assuming those unusual expenses don’t come up again, we’d therefore expect Westlake to produce a higher profit next year, all else being equal.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

Our Take On Westlake’s Profit Performance

Unusual items (expenses) detracted from Westlake’s earnings over the last year, but we might see an improvement next year. Based on this observation, we consider it likely that Westlake’s statutory profit actually understates its earnings potential! And on top of that, its earnings per share increased by 50% in the last year. At the end of the day, it’s essential to consider more than just the factors above, if you want to understand the company properly. In light of this, if you’d like to do more analysis on the company, it’s vital to be informed of the risks involved. For example, we’ve discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Westlake.

Today we’ve zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Westlake’s profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to ‘follow the money’ and search out stocks that insiders are buying. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with significant insider holdings to be useful.

Kyndryl Holdings (NYSE:KD) recently reported positive financial results for the fourth quarter, with a turnaround to a net income of $68 million compared to a prior loss, alongside several strategic product announcements. The launch of their AI Private Cloud Services and the Data Security Posture Management, in particular, align with market trends emphasizing AI readiness and data management. These developments likely bolstered investor confidence, contributing to the company’s 26% share price increase over the last month. Despite a generally flat market, Kyndryl’s activities and announcements supported its notable outperformance in the market context.

Kyndryl Holdings’ recent positive financial performance and strategic advancements, such as the launch of AI Private Cloud Services and Data Security Posture Management, could significantly influence their business trajectory. These initiatives are likely to enhance revenue growth and earnings, given the increasing market emphasis on AI and data management. Analysts expect Kyndryl’s earnings to grow substantially, with forecasts reaching US$844 million by 2028. This aligns with the consensus price target of US$43.15, which is 24.4% above the current share price of US$32.64, reflecting market optimism about the company’s potential to capitalize on these opportunities.

Over the past three years, Kyndryl’s total returns, including share price gains and dividends, surged by a very large 226.65%, underscoring significant long-term investor gains. Comparatively, in the last year, the company’s shares have outperformed both the US IT industry, which returned 21.6%, and the broader market’s 8.1% increase. The impressive three-year return indicates solid market performance and investor confidence in Kyndryl’s growth prospects and strategic initiatives.

The company’s recent financial advancements and strategic alliances are anticipated to solidify revenue streams and bolster net income. This momentum might enhance future earnings margins, although challenges like currency volatility and contractual obligations with IBM could impose financial headwinds. The company’s expanded service portfolio and alliances are pivotal, with analysts predicting a 1% annual revenue decline yet an increase in profit margins to 5.4% within three years. Such outcomes could justify the expected PE ratio adjustment from 55x to 16x by 2028, affirming the analyst consensus and further supporting share price appreciation.

As an investor its worth striving to ensure your overall portfolio beats the market average. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. Unfortunately, that’s been the case for longer term Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shareholders, since the share price is down 55% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 46%. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 13% in the last three months. However, one could argue that the price has been influenced by the general market, which is down 7.1% in the same timeframe.

Since Pfizer has shed US$11b from its value in the past 7 days, let’s see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business’ economics.

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Pfizer became profitable within the last five years. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So given the share price is down it’s worth checking some other metrics too.

Given the healthiness of the dividend payments, we doubt that they’ve concerned the market. On the other hand, the uninspired reduction in revenue, at 22% each year, may have shareholders ditching the stock. This could have some investors worried about the longer term growth potential (or lack thereof).

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

It’s probably worth noting we’ve seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Pfizer

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Pfizer the TSR over the last 3 years was -48%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

Readers hoping to buy United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company’s record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn’t show on the record date. Therefore, if you purchase United Rentals’ shares on or after the 14th of May, you won’t be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 28th of May.

The company’s next dividend payment will be US$1.79 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$7.16 to shareholders. Calculating the last year’s worth of payments shows that United Rentals has a trailing yield of 1.1% on the current share price of US$672.40. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That’s why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable – hardly an ideal situation. United Rentals paid out just 17% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether United Rentals generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. What’s good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 21% of its cash flow last year.

It’s encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don’t drop precipitously.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as investors cheered a new trade agreement hammered out between the United States and Britain, while U.S. President Donald Trump signaled upcoming talks with China would be more substantial than initially thought.

Britain agreed to lower its tariffs to 1.8% from 5.1% and provide greater access to U.S. goods as part of the deal, while a 10% baseline tariff on goods imported from the UK into the U.S. remains in place.

Semiconductor stocks (.SOX), opens new tab ended 1% higher, building on the 1.7% rise in the prior session after a spokesperson said the Trump administration was planning to rescind and modify a rule that curbed the export of sophisticated artificial-intelligence chips.

The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and flagged heightened risks of inflation and unemployment, further clouding the economic outlook for the world’s largest economy.

Markets still see the first cut of at least 25 basis points from the Fed at its July meeting, although expectations have dipped to 60% from 92% a week ago, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool, opens new tab.

On the economic front, weekly initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week, suggesting for some analysts the labor market remains on stable footing, but a separate report showed worker productivity dropped in the first quarter for the first time in nearly three years.

Among others, U.S.-listed shares of Arm slumped 6.2% after the chipmaker forecast first-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates.

Tapestry (TPR.N), opens new tab rose 3.7% after the luxury group raised its annual forecasts while Krispy Kreme’s (DNUT.O), opens new tab shares plummeted 24.7% after the restaurant chain became the latest to withdraw its full-year forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.82-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 98 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 16.85 billion shares, compared with the 16.86 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

If you’re looking for a multi-bagger, there’s a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we’d want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it’s a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, we’ve noticed some promising trends at Transocean (NYSE:RIG) so let’s look a bit deeper..

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven’t worked with ROCE before, it measures the ‘return’ (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Transocean:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets – Current Liabilities)

0.026 = US$454m ÷ (US$19b – US$1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025).

Therefore, Transocean has an ROCE of 2.6%. In absolute terms, that’s a low return and it also under-performs the Energy Services industry average of 11%.