Financial technology firm GreenSky Inc. is the latest startup about to go public, with plans to offer an unusually high 34 million shares Thursday on the Nasdaq Global Markets Thursday at an expected price of $21 to $23 a share.

Founded in 2006, GreenSky offers consumer loans via a platform that ties into point-of-sale systems, primarily focusing on the home improvement and elective healthcare markets. The platform allows consumers to get loans at the point of sale when shopping, serving as a “middleman for banks, merchants and consumers seeking low-cost loans for big-ticket items,” according to MarketWatch.

The initial public offering is notable because GreenSky is raising up to $901 million on an up to $4.4 billion valuation, making it not only one of the larger IPOs this year but possibly the largest fintech IPO on record.

Rohit Kulkarni, managing director and head of research at SharesPost Inc., told SiliconANGLE that GreenSky’s float is a litmus test for upcoming fintech IPOs given that investors may have good reasons to be wary of fintech stocks.

“LendingClub, which raised $900 million in 2014, the largest tech IPO of that year, has suffered a series of scandals and mismanagement,” Kulkarni explained. “Today, LendingClub trades below $4 per share, compared to $25 four years ago. OnDeck’s stock has not fared well, either.”

On a positive note, Kulkarni said, fintech remains a potentially promising area for investment. “Over 55 percent of investors selected fintech as one of the top three areas of long-term investment potential, according to SharesPost Investment Sentiment Survey for 2018,” he noted. Indeed, after GreenSky’s IPO announcement, payment processor Adven said it plans to list shares on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.

In terms of the broader market implications of the float, Kulkarni said private tech valuations could continue to rise in public markets.

“Recent IPO activity of VC-backed tech companies has been encouraging,” he said. “Cybersecurity firm Zscaler upped its IPO at $16 per share after an initial range of $13 to $15 per share. Investors effectively valued Zscaler’s IPO at 99 percent above its most recent private funding round.”

He added that Dropbox and Spotify have also enjoyed warm receptions on Wall Street. “GreenSky’s proposed $4.4 billion valuation in the public markets, assuming the high-end of its IPO pricing range, would essentially represent a flat round versus the most recent January 2018 funding round but compares favorably to its $3.6 billion private valuation in September 2016,” he said.

Coming into the IPO, GreenSky had raised $350 million for investors including QED Investors, TPG, Wellington Management, ICONIQ Capital, DST Global and Fifth Third Bancorp.

Image: GreenSky