New Kid on the Real Estate Block Seeks Wall Street Blessing

(Bloomberg) -- Cushman & Wakefield Plc, the biggest U.S. real estate listing since January, will get a chance to rebound from a sluggish debut with a round of analyst initiations next week.

On August 27, a quiet period expires for what may be the company’s friendliest analysts on Wall Street: those who work for banks that underwrote the initial public offering earlier this month. The 25-day trading anniversary is likely to prompt initiations from lead banks Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS Group AG. Other banks on the syndicate include Barclays Plc, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG and William Blair.

Cushman & Wakefield has failed to inspire investors in the weeks since its Aug. 2 debut. The Chicago-based company’s shares surged 9 percent in the first two days of trading but have since stalled. Shares rose as much as 4.1 percent intraday Friday in the final session before the initiations are expected to arrive. Its 3.5 percent return from the IPO is about half of the average for this month’s other offerings.

Bullish calls from analysts could spark a rally in the stock while cautious commentary could send the shares below the $17 offering price for the first time. Short interest represents 6.1 percent of the stock’s float, according to data compiled by IHS Markit Ltd.

Cushman & Wakefield manages about 3.5 billion square feet of commercial real estate and has 48,000 employees in 70 countries. The company is backed by private equity firms including TPG and PAG Asia Capital. Its first quarterly report as a public company is expected Sept. 5 after the market closes.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shelly Hagan in New York at shagan9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Courtney Dentch at cdentch1@bloomberg.net, Catherine Larkin, Richard Richtmyer

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