Planet Fitness (NYSE: PLNT) IPO Date Is Tomorrow - Here's a Breakdown of the Deal

planet fitness ipo date
Photo from Planet Fitness IPO filing, June 22, 2015

The Planet Fitness (NYSE: PLNT) IPO date is tomorrow, Aug. 6.

The Planet Fitness IPO is one of the most anticipated deals of 2015. The company is a leading U.S. gym chain and will become only the second publicly traded gym company behind Town Sports International Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: CLUB).

With the Planet Fitness (NYSE: PLNT) IPO date just one day away, here's everything you need to know about the deal - including whether or not you should buy Planet Fitness stock when it begins trading...

With the Planet Fitness (NYSE: PLNT) IPO Date Tomorrow, Here Are Your Biggest Questions Answered

What is the Planet Fitness IPO price?

Planet Fitness Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) set a price range of $14 to $16 a share for its IPO. The company will announce a final IPO price this evening.

How much money will the Planet Fitness IPO raise?

Planet Fitness will sell 13.5 million shares. At the midpoint of the price range, the Planet Fitness IPO will raise $203 million.

How much is Planet Fitness worth?

Planet Fitness commands a valuation of $1.5 billion. According to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO-focused ETFs, that's more than three times the size of Town Sports International's pre-IPO valuation of $455 million.

What kind of company is Planet Fitness?

Planet Fitness is one of the largest franchised gym chains in the United States. It currently has more than 1,000 locations and hopes to eventually quadruple that number down the road. The chain prides itself on its "Judgment Free Zone," which the company describes as "an environment where you can relax, go at your own pace, and just do your own thing without ever having to worry about being judged."

The company also boasts low-cost memberships. A standard membership costs $10 a month on average. Premium memberships, which offer PF Black Cards that allow members to purchase products from Reebok and other retailers at a discount, average $19.99 a month. Its Black Card membership has grown from 38% of all members in 2010 to 55% in 2014.

Who are the underwriters of the Planet Fitness IPO?

The joint underwriters for the deal are JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Jefferies Group LLC, and Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE ADR: CS).

How much money does Planet Fitness make?

The company has seen strong sales growth in the last few years. Its adjusted earnings jumped 41.5% from $71.1 million in 2013 to $100.6 million in 2014. Revenue grew from $211 million to $279.8 million over the same period, while same store sales growth increased from 8.4% to 10.8%.

However, Planet Fitness has $506.4 million in debt as of March 31. That will require large interest payments, which could hinder the company's growth.

"We have a substantial amount of debt," the company's filing stated, "and our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition and limit our ability to pursue our growth strategy."

With all of that in mind, should you buy into the Planet Fitness IPO?

Should I buy into the Planet Fitness IPO?

Planet Fitness stock could be a healthy investment down the road. The company's ambitious expansion plans and growing membership of 7 million customers could help it become the foremost gym chain in the United States.

But we strongly recommend waiting until after the Planet Fitness IPO to consider investing in PLNT stock. That's because IPOs aren't a good idea for retail investors like you and me.

You see, Wall Street usually reserves popular IPOs for institutional investors willing to buy huge quantities of the stock. These "VIPs" usually cause the stock to sell off by the time we could buy into it.

Not to mention most of these IPOs are accompanied by hype that overshadows the facts.

"Too many investors hear of a 'hot IPO' and try to get in on the action without doing any homework at all," Money Morning Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson noted. "That's a recipe for a hefty loss."

The Bottom Line: With the Planet Fitness (NYSE: PLNT) IPO date tomorrow, it's easy to understand why it's one of the most anticipated IPOs of 2015. Although the company is popular and has strong growth potential, we recommend passing on the Planet Fitness IPO since newly issued stocks generally pose huge risks for retail investors.

Alex McGuire is an associate editor for Money Morning who writes about upcoming IPOs. You can follow him on Twitter at @AlexMcGuire92 for all of the biggest IPO news.

How to Safely Profit from Any IPO: Investing in newly issued stocks can seem like an exciting way to earn huge profits. But with institutional investors and other Wall Street "VIPs" cheating the market for quick gains, the IPO process is a rigged game nowadays. That's why we've outlined the three best IPO investing rules to follow for any new stock. Check them out here...