GoHealth Surges 20 Pct After IPO Raises More Than $913M

Shares of GoHealth surged Wednesday (July 15) on the heels of a blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) that saw the online health insurance brokerage raise $913 million.

Trading on Nasdaq under the stock symbol GOCO, the Chicago-based online health coverage company saw its stock price, which debuted at $21 a share on Wednesday, gain more 20 percent by midday before falling back to the 10 percent range by early afternoon.

GoHealth’s IPO beat market expectations, with 43.5 million shares priced at $21 apiece. That was up from an earlier, estimated price range of $18 to $20 a share, with the number of shares also higher than the 39.5 million GoHealth had previously planned on selling.

The successful IPO proved to be a boon for GoHealth, which had expected to raise $751 million, while also putting it within striking distance of the $935 million recently raised by ZoomInfo Technologies.

The online health insurance brokerage, founded in 2001, got a major boost with the passage of Obamacare a decade ago. GoHealth has also gained additional revenue traction in recent years by shifting focus towards selling Medicare plans to seniors, a growing segment of U.S. society as the aging Boomer generation heads into retirement.

GoHealth, in a filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, estimates the market for Medicare-based advantage and supplemental plans to be worth as much as $28 billion in 2020.

Revenue in 2019 jumped 138.5% to $539.5 million, the company told federal regulators.

“With over 10,000 Americans turning 65 years old every day and GoHealth’s track record of significant growth in net revenues in the Medicare space in the past five years, we believe we will continue to be one of the top choices for unbiased insurance advice to help navigate one of the most important purchasing decisions individuals make,” GoHealth noted in its SEC filing.