How to trade on Oatly’s IPO

Oatly's IPO took place on 19 May 2021, where the company debuted on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker ‘OTLY’.

Oatly priced its shares ahead of the IPO at $17, where the company was expected to earn a valuation of around $10bn. This is 5x its previous valuation of $2bn in July 2020. Upon debut on the NASDAQ, Oatly's share price opened almost 30% higher than expected at a price of $22. This gave the company an even higher valuation of around $13bn.

Trade on Oatly's share price >​​

In terms of pre-IPO financials, Oatly shows large progress in its industry. The brand’s popularity has led to supply shortages in the US due to delays in production. At the end of 2020, Oatly reported a $60m net loss on an overall $421m revenue, which doubles the revenue from the previous year. In the company’s prospectus for its IPO, Oatly is also expanding its presence outside of Europe and the US, and it is considering a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Oatly has seen success over recent years, due to a re-branding in 2013 and investor interest from high-profile celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z. Here are some reasons why investors may be particularly interested in trading on Oatly’s IPO:

In 2020, Oatly faced backlash after selling a 10% stake of the company, worth $200m, to US-based investment management company, The Blackstone Group. Blackstone is known for its ties and financing of companies that promote deforestation of the Amazon, which goes against Oatly’s sustainable and eco-friendly business stance. This led to some consumers boycotting the company and switching to other plant-based milk brands. There is also the issue of recent EU regulations on plant-based foods, whether it be relating to branding or wording.

This is all important information when considering whether to trade on Oatly’s IPO. Consumer backlash can lead to negative investor sentiment, which can have an effect on the company’s share price. Traders should stay up to date with market news and announcements, in case there are updates that may cause their positions to decline in value. Find out more in our news and analysis section of the platform.

Oatly is not the first or the only dairy alternative brand. Other companies include Alpro, Almond Breeze, Kite Hill, Dream and Swedish Glace. However, the majority of these are subsidiary brands that are owned by larger corporations, such as Danone, Unilever and Hain Celestial Group, which are largely involved in the production of dairy for the remainder of their products. Therefore, Oatly’s IPO is fairly unique to its market, given that it’s a pure play milk alternative.

Register for an account to get started. Once the shares are available on our platform, you will be able to spread bet or trade CFDs on Oatly’s share price. IPOs don’t usually go live at the start of the trading session as the exchange needs to undertake a price discovery phase to calculate the opening price. Therefore, look out for Oatly’s IPO going live a couple of hours into the UK trading session on the day.