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What a difference a week makes.
Nine days ago in this space, I wrote about how the IPO market was oddly silent despite stocks again reaching record highs. I figured the drought couldn’t possibly last much longer.
Consider the floodgates officially open.
Twelve IPOs have priced in the last week, capped by four companies going public on U.S. exchanges today. Few of the companies have been household names. But like the market itself of late, the returns have been stellar.
All eight of the IPOs that had debuted prior to today were trading above their offer price. OncoMed Pharma (OMED), a biopharm company developing a new cancer drug, has risen 57% since last Thursday’s IPO. RetailMeNot (SALE), operator of the largest digital coupon sites in the U.S. and U.K., has climbed 32.6% since its IPO last Friday.
While results for today’s four IPOs were mixed, another biotech company – Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO) – was up a whopping 75% in its debut.
Expect little letup in the IPO market as long as stocks continue to prosper.
Fifteen more companies are lined up in the IPO hopper, waiting to price in the coming days. Most of them are small-time, high-risk biopharm companies. Despite the early returns, few of the current IPOs make for safe long-term investments.
However, the simple fact that so many companies are going public tells you all you need to know about the health of this market.