Anthropic IPO on November 26: most retail investors say no

Anthropic goes public on November 26 and the market is already backing away

Are you going to buy Anthropic shares? The question has been circulating ever since the listing date was set: November 26. And the majority answer, among those who trinc the market with their portfolio open, is a resounding no. Not for lack of interest in the company, but because of the price, the timing, and the suspicion that day one is not for buying in but for watching.

The most repeated argument is the usual one: you don't buy into an IPO because it's cheap. You buy because of FOMO, because of the indirect backing of the United States government — if the whole AI operation collapses, the narrative propping up ChatGPT and everything behind it crumbles too — and with the openly declared intention of dumping the shares a week later. Buying and holding, they say, is another matter.

How much institutional backing does Anthropic really have

The thesis of public backing is not a far-fetched theory: it rests on the idea that the AI complex has become strategic infrastructure and that an abrupt fall of its champions would drag down half the sector. The problem is that this umbrella does not translate into a reasonable entry price. Some compare it to the SpaceX pattern, which went from 130 to 230, fell back to 130 and now hovers around 160: the journey is the volatility, not a calm climb in value.

The practical warning is clear: if you buy, be prepared to live glued to your phone 24 hours a day. The swings will be extremely fast because many people are getting in with the intention of selling a week later. It's the classic profile of a listing that turns into a spectacle.

Why seasoned investors wait one or two years before touching an IPO

The broadest consensus among those who have been through several IPOs is to let the stock settle. The reference points cited in the sector do not invite optimism: Coreweave went from 140 to 55, and Cerebras is mentioned as another example of a post-listing collapse. The conclusion that keeps coming up is that IPOs are for buying and dumping the same day or the next, never for a long-term portfolio.

The other open front is liquidity. Where is the money going to come from for another placement of this size? Some even doubt that the market will hold up until November 26 without a scare along the way. The AI bubble, they argue, is not ready for another stretch.

What peine with Anthropic shares and why retail investors are wary

Retail investors have learned the hard way. The distrust does not come from sophisticated technical analysis but from experience: in most cases an IPO is priced high and then loses ground until it stabilizes. That, combined with the feeling that the stock market has become a gold rush with sailing ships included, explains why the answer is mostly negative.

The option gaining ground is to wait for the FOMO to pass and get in afterwards. By then, of course, the price will no longer be the one in the prospectus. Or it will. Nobody knows, and that's the beauty of it.

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In the end, the million-dollar question is not whether Anthropic is a good company. It's whether on November 26 anyone will be willing to pay the first price. With this mood, listing day could be the most expensive day for a long time.