Kinda. In a normal IPO the big banks will agree to underwrite (that is, buy from the company and then immediately sell to investors) all the shares at an initial "offering price", and this is agreed upon in writing a little bit before the launch day. I don't believe this happens in the direct listing format, it just starts floating with no underwriting process.

So there is a difference in structure, but to your point immediately after launch it does not really matter to the general investing public