Oscar Health brings in $1.4B in stock listing, eyes $7.9B valuation

Oscar Health raised $1.4 billion in its stock listing.

The tech-enabled insurer listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, pricing 37 million shares at $39 each, the company announced.

The initial public offering puts Oscar on pace for a $7.9 billion valuation, according to Yahoo Finance. Renaissance Capital analysts place the company at a $9.5 billion valuation, 22% higher than they previously projected.

Oscar Health initially said in late February that it would list with 31 million shares priced between $32 and $34 each. The company will trade on NYSE under the ticker "OSCR."

A smiling photo of Meghan Joyce
Meghan Joyce (Oscar Health)

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Meghan Joyce, chief operating officer at Oscar Health, told Fierce Healthcare that the insurer sees its IPO as a significant opportunity to continue its growth trajectory.

"This is such an exciting stepping stone and an oppourtunity to really double down on our mission," she said.

Joyce highlighted Oscar's work in growing both its Affordable Care Act exchange presence, the cornerstone of its business, and its expansion into Medicare Advantage and small group markets as areas where the insurer sees "real runway" for further expansion now that the company is public.

Due to the pandemic, almost all of Oscar's planning in the lead-up to the IPO was conducted virtually, Joyce said. However, COVID-19 did allow the insurer to invest further in its virtual capabilities and to see its commitment to technology bear fruit as demand soared for telehealth.

She said the IPO offers a major avenue to continue those investments.

"Oscar has never lost sight of that commitment and has in fact been able to double down technological services and innovation," Joyce said.

At about 1:30 p.m. ET, shares were down from $39 to $35.75 each. Oscar's IPO is expected to close on March 5.

Oscar took the first steps toward going public in late December and officially filed for its IPO earlier this month. Late last year, the insurer banked a $140 million funding round, which closely followed a $225 million round led by Google's parent company Alphabet.

Oscar's membership has reached 529,000, but the company has struggled to turn a profit. In a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, the insurer said it has a "history of losses" and noted it has not been profitable since its 2012 launch.