UserTesting has some feedback for the public market. It’s not for them. The company, which is known for its customer experience tools, went public last November at $14 a share. Its stock stumbled on its opening day and shares never traded above $15.98, a high reached Nov. 17, 2021. On Thursday, the company agreed to be acquired by Thoma Bravo and Sunstone Partners for $7.50 per share, or a 94% premium to its closing price on Wednesday. The stock jumped 93% on the news. With this deal, UserTesting becomes the latest recent IPO to go private. On Tuesday, Weber received an offer from its largest shareholder, BDT Capital Partners . If Weber agrees to BDT’s proposal, it will join a growing list of companies that went public in 2021, struggled to find an investor base, then went private again. In the wake of the Weber news, CNBC Pro looked for other companies that could be next. We screened for companies that debuted in 2021 and were trading down more than 50% since their first day of trading. Among those stocks, we looked for companies that still had large insider or sponsor ownership by choosing those with a float that was 45% of its outstanding stock, or less. To find quality names, we only picked companies that were covered by at least six analysts and had a buy rating from at least 55% of them, and where the upside to the stock’s average price target was at least 40%. Finally, stocks had to have a market cap of at least $400 million. On that list, which we published Wednesday, was UserTesting . Here is our full chart below in case you missed it. The screen turned up names such as Latham Group , which benefited from strong demand for swimming pools during the pandemic. It also includes Fluence Energy , which could gain momentum as more people seek battery storage products. A number of tech companies were on the list as well, including Braze , a company that went public the same day as UserTesting. Braze shares traded as high as $98.78 last November, but the stock is down 62% year to date. Earlier this month, JMP analyst Patrick Walravens reiterated a market perform rating on the Braze shares, with a $52 price target, after attending the company’s investor day and checking in with customers. The price target implies more than 78% upside to where Braze shares are currently trading. In research note at the time, Walravens noted that venture capital firm and existing Braze investor Iconiq Capital recently increase its stake. According to FactSet, Iconiq holds a 16.5% of Braze’s outstanding stock. The UserTesting deal has been approved by the board, but is subject to a “go-shop” period that ends on Dec. 10. Barring other offers, the deal should close in the first half of 2023. After the deal is complete, Thoma Bravo and Sunstone Partners will combine UserTesting and UserZoom into one company. Thoma Bravo has been the majority owner of UserZoom, which also makes tools that help its users better understand customer experience. “We believe the combination of UserTesting and UserZoom will unlock tremendous value for our customers by further integrating and expanding the suite of research methods, testing types, and measurement options available — all while making the voice of the customer and human insight more accessible across an organization and easily integrated into their processes and workflows,” UserTesting CEO Andy MacMillan said in a release .
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