Cramer: I bless Square's IPO ONLY if this happens
Later this week, one of the most highly anticipated initial public offerings of the year will hit the tape for Square, the payment technology company founded by Jack Dorsey , who is also the co-founder and current CEO of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR). Jim Cramer decided to take a look at Square and see if it's worth blessing for investment.
Square is the company known for those little devices that plug into a phone for the purposes of a credit card reader, along with the iPad stands that transform a tablet into a permanent point-of- sale terminal. It sells the devices for little to nothing, but then every time it is used to swipe a customer's credit card, it takes a 2.75 percent cut.
"In short, Square has an intriguing concept with fast growth as well as a very cool and popular set of products, but at the same time, there are a number of serious issues that have people very concerned about investing in this company," the "Mad Money" host said.
The first concern on Cramer's radar is the fact that Square isn't profitable. Additionally, its CEO is clearly spread thin. If he ever had to choose between his two jobs, Cramer thinks he would stick with Twitter.
On top of that, the company lost its biggest client not long ago when Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) decided to get rid of Square and develop its own payment platform. In fact, Cramer found that the entire payment industry has become insanely crowded with too many competitors, such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Pay and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL).
So if Square has so many problems, why would Cramer even bother to look at the stock ahead of the IPO?
One word — price. Typically when Cramer sees a popular IPO hit the tape, the stock will be priced at high levels. However, in Square's case, the price range is insanely low.
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Square's price for the deal is $11 to $13 a share, which translates to the company being valued between $3.55 billion and $4.2 billion when it comes public. Given that Square was valued at $6 billion in its last round of private fundraising a little over a year ago, it is clear that the investment bankers are trying to give investors a bargain right out of the gate.
Ultimately, with this proposed price range, Cramer thinks that Square could be cheap enough to be worth buying depending on one's tolerance for risk.
So, if one were to judge Square by looking at it without considering the price, clearly it is a mixed bag with the negatives outweighing the positives. But the price changes the game for Cramer.
"At a cheap enough valuation, even no-so-hot merchandise is worth buying. So, if you like what you see with Square, then I'm willing to give you my blessing to try to get a piece of this deal, as long as it prices at $13 or below. But don't overstay your welcome," Cramer said.
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