Reddit is pricing its shares at $34, which was on the higher end of its target range, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The social media company is expected to begin trading on Thursday, March 21, Reuters also reported.
On Wednesday, Reddit also filed a certification of approval to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, according to an SEC document.
Reddit users who participate in the company's initial public offering will not be restricted by any lock-up period, the social media company announced in an updated filing about its anticipated debut.
The company is planning on offering 22 million shares, the filing says. Of those, 15 million will be sold directly by the company to public investors and 7 million will be sold by existing investors.
That could value Reddit up to $6.4 billion, according to Reuters.
Reddit is setting aside 8% of all shares for a group of shareholders that includes eligible users alongside certain board directors and friends and family members.
Users, commonly referred to as Redditors, who have been invited to purchase shares ahead of the debut will be allowed to sell immediately.
A small number of users were invited to participate in the sale based on certain metrics related to their activity. Rather than using a system based on "likes," engagement on Reddit is measured by upvotes, downvotes, posting, commenting and moderating, all of which are translated into "karma" points or actions taken by moderators.
"We will invite users and moderators to participate in the directed share program in six phased priority tiers. We will assign each eligible participant to a tier based on that participant’s contributions to Reddit," the filing says.
The inclusion of its users in the IPO could contribute to volatility in the stock's trading and lead Reddit to became a so-called meme stock itself, which is a known risk that company acknowledged in its filing.
Reddit cited one of its own communities, or subreddits, called r/wallstreetbets, which pushed short squeezes on GameStop and AMC Entertainment stocks in 2021.
"Given the broad awareness and brand recognition of Reddit, including as a result of the popularity of r/wallstreetbets among retail investors, and the direct access by retail investors to broadly available trading platforms, the market price and trading volume of our Class A common stock could experience extreme volatility for reasons unrelated to our underlying business or macroeconomic or industry fundamentals, which could cause you to lose all or part of your investment if you are unable to sell your shares at or above the initial offering price," the filing says.
Members of the "Wall Street Bets" subreddit reacted to the news on Monday in typical Redditor fashion: with sarcasm.
"It’s a Trap by Wallstreet trying to take revenge from GameStop
Other users asked:
"Can I buy shares with my karma points ?"
"How do you short an IPO?"
This story has been updated to clarify the ownership of shares being sold in Reddit's offering. Reddit Inc. is selling 15 million shares and existing investors are selling 7 million shares.
