Levi's and Lyft could kick the IPO market into high gear

Levi Strauss (LEVI) is set to return to the public markets later this week and the blue jean king could be worth more than $6 billion when its stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (Levi's first went public in 1971 but was taken private in 1985.)

Cloud-based HR company Alight is debuting this week as well and is expected to fetch a valuation of nearly $5 billion.

And then there's Lyft (LYFT). The Uber rival recently set a price range for its initial public offering that will value the company at about $20 billion. It will begin trading on the Nasdaq as soon as next week.

If these unicorns -- the investing term for private companies with a valuation of at least $1 billion -- do well, then many more IPOs may follow, said Jackie Kelley, Americas IPO leader at EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, during an interview with CNN Business last month.

Mega-IPOs from Uber, Airbnb, Slack, Pinterest, WeWork and other big startups wait in the wings. And Kelley said the market jitters late last year because of recession fears may have convinced these big private companies to go public sooner rather than later. She said that multiple companies have pushed up their IPO plans in order to get ahead of an eventual economic slowdown.

But how well will Lyft and other unicorns do? Alan Patricof, the legendary venture capitalist who backed Apple (AAPL), Office Depot (ODP) and AOL, recently told CNBC he'd stay away from Lyft and Uber.

Avoid Lyft and Uber IPOs?

Patricof, the co-founder and managing director of Greycroft LLC, said there are legitimate concerns about increased competition in the ridesharing market, backlash against surge pricing and customer complaints.

Greycroft does have an investment in electric scooter company Bird though. It's also backing startups such as media company Axios, micro investing app Acorns and grocery delivery service Boxed.

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Patricof and Kelley will be talking about IPOs with CNN''s chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, on the "Markets Now" live show Wednesday at 12:45 pm ET.

There will also be a special bonus episode of "Markets Now" this Thursday at 12:45 p.m. ET. Alicia Levine, chief strategist at BNY Mellon, will join CNN correspondent Alison Kosik to discuss the broader market outlook.

"Markets Now" streams live from the New York Stock Exchange every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. ET. Hosted by CNN's business correspondents, the 15-minute program features incisive commentary from experts.

You can watch "Markets Now" at CNN.com/MarketsNow from your desk or on your phone or tablet. If you can't catch the show live, check out highlights online and through the Markets Now newsletter, delivered to your inbox every afternoon.

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