Uber slump after IPO points to concern about business model, profitability

on May 18, 2019

In 2018, the company’s revenue was up by 43 percent from the year before – but that growth in revenue is slowing down.

“That’s a huge problem for a company valued at $80 billion, which is what they wanted to do at the time. So when you’re priced for perfection at that level you can’t show revenues – ok, with profits, we can wait. We’ll believe you, we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt about profits. But, revenue? That’s your thing, you’ve got to grow that,” said Rao.

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Everything is a function of what happens in the US essentially: Santosh Rao, Manhattan Venture Partners

on May 16, 2019

The narrative in the US is that Mr Modi’s government will get elected again, said Santosh Rao, Head of Research, Partner, Manhattan Venture Partners, in an interview with ETNOW.

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Why an Etsy, Pinterest Partnership Makes Sense

on May 13, 2019

“These are highly motivated users, they tend to buy, they tend to act,” Manhattan Venture Partners head of research Santosh Rao explained in an interview with Real Money. “The advertisers get the views that they want, and they get the return on their investment.” So too could an e-commerce player like Etsy looking to access that user base. “At some point, they’ll become e-commerce,” Rao said. “Users come there for actions. Users are thinking of buying, looking for ideas.”

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How does an IPO get its value?

on May 13, 2019

In general, investors buying shares at the offering price want to pay the least, meaning the lowest price per share they can get. Then, when the stock bumps up once public trading begins, these investors have instantly made a profit. But Santosh Rao, head of research at Manhattan Venture Partners, says IPOs are also very popular with investors right now, and some will disregard an inflated share price. “It’s IPO fever right now,” Rao said. “Some investors just want to get in there. You get bragging rights, other than the fact that they’re good investments.”

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Why IPO pricing is “more of an art than a science”

on May 13, 2019

In general, investors buying shares at the offering price want to pay the least, meaning the lowest price per share they can get. Then, when the stock bumps up once public trading begins, these investors have instantly made a profit. But Santosh Rao, head of research at Manhattan Venture Partners, says IPOs are also very popular with investors right now, and some will disregard an inflated share price. “It’s IPO fever right now,” Rao said. “Some investors just want to get in there. You get bragging rights, other than the fact that they’re good investments.”

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Lyft stock is down 30% since trading debut. Now its first big quarterly earnings loss is about to hit the market

on May 8, 2019

In late March, Lyft’s co-founder John Zimmer told CNBC — on the Friday morning when the rideshare firm went public and he earned hundreds of millions of dollars — that the company was “ready to be held accountable” for the fact that it had no history of profits. The market did not wait long. After finishing up modestly on its first day of trading, it has been almost all downhill for the company, with shorts piling into the stock and a loss for Lyft investors near-30% below its first-day closing price.

One thing no one expects is a profit. That may not arrive until earliest 2022, according to early Lyft investor Santosh Rao, partner at Manhattan Ventures.

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Pinterest Rises as Susquehanna Initiates Coverage at Neutral

on May 6, 2019

Shares of Pinterest (PINS) were getting a lift Monday after analysts at Susquehanna Financial initiated coverage of the newly public social media company at neutral, saying the company’s user base is particularly supportive of monetization.

This trend may also be helpful for Pinterest’s e-commerce plans. “At some point, they’ll become e-commerce,” Santosh Rao, head of research at Manhattan Venture Partners, which held Pinterest shares on the private market, told TheStreet recently. “Users come there for actions. Users are thinking of buying, looking for ideas.” Rao added, “They’ll click on something, go to the site and buy it.”

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Three things to watch for in Apple’s earnings announcement

on April 30, 2019

“China is Apple’s sacred cow,” Santosh Rao, Head of Research at Manhattan Venture Partners tells Yahoo Finance. “Thats where they need to perform.”

Poor iPhone sales in China were the main reason why Apple slashed its revenue forecast in January.

“People are delaying their refresh cycles to get new iPhones,” Rao says.

He says the iPhone is a big part of keeping customers in Apple’s ecosystem and with iPhone sales shrinking, investors want to see evidence that Apple’s growth is coming from its services businesses, including video streaming and mobile gaming.

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Speakers Announced for First Annual Vault Conference Presented by Emmy® Award-Winning Entertainer, NY Times Best-Selling Author, Businessman and Philanthropist Steve Harvey

on April 25, 2019

Tickets for this first annual Vault conference are limited for this exclusive launch, featuring keynotes by experienced and inspiring speakers including Steve Harvey; Lars Buttler, CEO, AI Foundation; Johnny Cupcakes, CEO of world-renowned tee-shirt brand; Stacey Ferreira, CEO and Founder, Forge and Farnoosh Torabi, personal finance expert. Panels and Breakout sessions will be led by Al Harrington, CEO, Voila; Brandi Harvey, Founder and CEO, Beyond Her; Charreah Jackson, author, speaker and relationship builder; Morgan Mercer, CEO, Vantage Point; Nathan Pirtle, CEO, Work with the Coach; Ashley Stahl, American national security professional turned entrepreneur and podcaster (You Turn); Thabiti Stephens, Chief of Staff, Steve Harvey Global and Rashaun Williams, venture capitalist, Manhattan Venture Partners.

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SoFi Reportedly Seeks to Raise $500 Million From Qatar Investment Authority

on April 25, 2019

Fintech unicorn SoFi is reportedly seeking to raise $500 million from the Qatar Investment Authority. The company, which has a valuation of $4.3 billion, has previously raised $2 billion from investors, which includes Manhattan Venture Partners, RSC Capital, SoftBank, Silver Lake Partners, and DCM Ventures.

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