Caris Life Sciences, a precision oncology firm backed by Sixth Street and JH Whitney, is targeting a valuation of up to $5.3bn in its upcoming US initial public offering, as appetite for new listings gathers pace amid improving market sentiment, according to a report by Reuters.
The Irving, Texas-based company has filed to raise up to $423.5m, offering 23.5 million shares at a price range of $16 to $18 per share. The IPO would value Caris at a price-to-sales multiple of approximately 13x, placing it at the higher end of its peer group, according to IPOX analyst Lukas Muehlbauer.
Founded in 2008 by CEO David Halbert, Caris leverages artificial intelligence to deliver molecular and blood-based cancer diagnostics, with a strong commercial focus on tissue-based molecular profiling. The company reported $412.3m in revenue for 2024, up 35% year-over-year, and has performed more than 6.5 million tests across 849,000 cases. Its client base includes over 100 biopharmaceutical partners, among them Moderna and AbbVie.
Caris previously secured $830m in a 2021 growth round led by Sixth Street, valuing the business at $7.83bn. The upcoming offering reflects recalibrated public market expectations as well as continued optimism around precision medicine platforms.
The IPO is expected to attract institutional interest, with Neuberger Berman expressing intent to purchase up to $75m worth of shares. The float follows the successful debut of Tempus AI, another precision medicine firm, which has seen its shares rise nearly 68% since going public last year.
BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup are acting as lead underwriters. Shares will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker CAI.
