Tadawul logs another muted debut: Shares of private healthcare provider SpecializedMedical Company (SMC) shed 3.5% on its Tadawul debut to close at SAR 24.16 a piece. The slump makes SMC the third company this year to close the first day of trading on the main market below its IPO price, joining Flynas (-3.4%) and United Carton Industries (UCIC) (-1.5%).

The company’s shares will still be subject to the usual Tadawul debut rules — a 30% price fluctuation cap and a static 10% band over the first three sessions, followed by a 10% daily circuit breaker onwards.

ICYMI- SMC took a 30% stake to market in a secondary offering that was 65x oversubscribed by institutional investors and 1.45x oversubscribed by retail investors. Shares were priced at SAR 25 each — the top of the indicative range — implying a market cap of SAR 6.3 bn at listing and raising SAR 1.9 bn for the selling shareholders (minus transaction-related costs).

Bad timing? The offering landed just as Tadawul is closing one of its weakest quarters on record, shedding 4.8% in May amid slumping oil prices, rising concerns over fiscal spending, and a broader flight from risk across Gulf markets. The Israel-Iran conflict and renewed US tariff threats added to the uncertainty, signaling wider investor caution rather than company-specific drawdowns.

Part of the lackluster performance may be chalked up to transaction mechanics. The stock’s top-end pricing may have left little room for upside, and the fact that it was a secondary offering (with no new capital injected into the business) may have curbed investor appetite. Retail demand was also more subdued than institutional interest, suggesting the investor base that typically drives first-day momentum wasn’t fully on board.

The weak debut marks a rare miss in the Kingdom’s healthcare IPO space, which has largely been a hotbed for first-day pops. Almoosa Health ’s stock gained 15% on debut in January, while Fakeeh Care’s shares were up 10% in one of the largest IPOs last year. Al Hammadi and Saudi German Healthcare led the way with high-profile IPOs a few years ago, with Dr Sulaiman Al Habib, Nahdi Medical, and drugmakers Jamjoom Pharma — Tadawul’s biggest IPO of 2023 — and Avalon Pharma in 2024 all following suit.

The main market IPO pipeline remains hefty, but may be facing delays due to the broader market jitters born out of the Israel-Iran war:

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