Eric Krull On SmileDirectClub IPO: 'They Don't Make Money'

Investors in SmileDirectClub Inc SDC had a reason to grin Friday. 

Shares in the home-teeth straightening company were starting to come back after getting hit badly by what appeared to be an overpriced opening on the stock’s first day on the market Thursday.

The shares were up more than 10% on Friday after dropping 28% on the first day of trading for the newly public company, one of the five worst openings of the year.

SmileDirectClub opened trading on the Nasdaq at $23 a share before quickly dropping. On Friday, it was trading back above $18. The stock was trading down 0.41% at $18.60 at the time of publication Monday. 

“I don’t know what the growth possibilities are for this company, but they don’t make money now,” Eric Krull of Krull Asset Management said Thursday on Benzinga’s PreMarket Prep trading show.

SmileDirectClub reported a $53-million loss in the six months ended June 30, nearly doubling year-over-year. 

“We’ll see what the public’s appetite is for a company that doesn’t make any money,” Krull said, noting that few IPOs have produced any gains for investors this year.

SmileDirectClub CFO Kyle Wailes said the company is focused on the long term, not the first few days of trading.

“We are focused on long term shareholder value — the next 12, 24, 36 months and beyond,” Wailes said in a statement cited by TechCrunch.

“Today’s IPO allows us to reinvest in innovation in product, process, international growth and customer experience. We are just getting started but our commitment to our mission, our 5,500+ team members, our customers and now our shareholders is stronger than ever.”

Listen to the full discussion at 35:11 in the recording below.

PreMarket Prep is a daily trading show hosted by prop trader Dennis Dick and former floor trader Joel Elconin. You can watch PreMarket Prep live every day from 8-9 a.m. ET here. The replay can be found on Benzinga's YouTube channel, and the podcast is on iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Tunein.

Related Links

SmileDirectClub IPO: What You Need To Know

A Halftime Report Of The IPO Market In 2019

Photo courtesy of SmileDirectClub.