Blue Apron Holdings Inc. is struggling to win over investors in its initial public offering, and now expects to sell shares at a lower price than originally targeted.
A weak pricing of a well-known startup would be a disappointing development for the IPO market, which after a dismal 2016 has been on the rebound in the first half of 2017.
Blue Apron filed early Wednesday to lower the expected price range for its shares to $10 to $11 apiece, below the $15 to $17 it sought earlier, according to regulatory filings.
Peter Lee, a data scientist at Triton Research LLC, which analyzes pre-IPO companies, said that Blue Apron will likely impress some investors with its consistent revenue growth, but it’s unclear how it will transform into a company with strong profit margins given the complexity of food distribution and lack of customer loyalty.
