FinTech IPO Index Off 0.7%, Led by OppFi and Hippo Holdings

The FinTech IPO Index traded slightly lower, off 0.7%, as platforms led the group to the downside.

But even with the dip, the Index itself is up slightly more than 35% year to date.

OppFi shares sank 10%. Reuters reported coming into the month that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Timothy Dillon “is expected to rule any day” on the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation’s legal action that seeks to bar OppFi from offering loans with an interest rate above California’s maximum of 36%.

Shareholders Urge Hippo to Revamp

Elsewhere, shares of Hippo Insurance sank 7.9%. As reported Thursday, Bradley L. Radoff and Etude Capital LLC, together with other holders of as much as 2.5% of Hippo’s outstanding shares, wrote an open letter to Hippo’s board of directors noting “abysmal financial results” and that the company has “operated in an unsustainable manner. Hippo is now a micro-cap stock that trades at a roughly 50% discount to book value. We believe the board must immediately embrace its fiduciary duty to preserve shareholder value while navigating a highly regulated industry.” The letter urged the board to examine and maximize value related to its capital position and Spinnaker Insurance Co., among other assets.

Also, nCino’s stock was off 0.9%. The company said this week that the Nomura Trust & Banking Co., a subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc., has successfully implemented and is live on the nCino Cloud Banking Platform.

Toast shares lost 4.6%, having said earlier in the month that Aman Narang will become CEO at the start of 2024. He co-founded the firm in 2011 and has served as its chief operating officer since 2021,

Narang takes over from CEO Chris Comparato, who has held that position since 2015. Both he and Narang will remain on the Toast board.

In reference to some notable gainers:

Affirm shares were up 5.1% through the past five trading sessions.

As reported here, Affirm has partnered with travel platform Booking.com to offer travelers flexible payment options as they plan and pay for trips. As reported, Affirm will be available at checkout across several Booking Holdings travel brands, expanding on existing partnerships with KAYAK, Agoda and Priceline. Booking.com joins Affirm’s network of over 254,000 merchants, including American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, CheapOair and Vacasa.

Paymentus stock was up 5%.

The company announced the validation of its Paymentus Patient Billing and Payments stack through the Oracle Health developer program. And as detailed in the announcement, the validation allows Paymentus to connect to the Oracle Health electronic health record (EHR) and supply healthcare providers with advanced billing, payment and disbursement capabilities. Additionally, Paymentus can disburse money through the same payment channels, as stated this week, reducing the need for disbursements via check and minimizing associated risks.

The Paymentus news comes on the heels of its second-quarter results last month, which saw the company add bookings and clients from multiple industries for its cloud-based bill payment solutions. Those industries include retail, insurance, telecommunications, utilities, government agencies, and a global technology service provider, according to management commentary on the call.