Kamada, Epizyme Close out Huge Month for IPOs

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IPOs were back with a vengeance this month.

More companies went public on U.S. exchanges in May than in any month since before the recession. IPOs by Kamada (KMDA) and Enzyme (EPZM) yesterday brought the month’s total to 30 – the most in six years.

The big May for IPOs comes on the heels of a fairly modest first four months of the year. IPO totals in February, March and April were all down from 2012. The 30 IPOs in May almost triples last year’s tally.

A surprising upturn in U.S. markets this month surely had a lot to do with all the new companies going public.

Stocks were up 4.5% this month, setting record highs on almost a weekly basis – an extreme rarity for the beginning of the traditional “Sell In May” market downturn.

The surprising health of the markets spilled over into the IPO market, convincing more privately held companies to jump in the pool that at any time since May 2007.

The returns haven’t hurt either. Nineteen of the 30 companies that went public this month are currently trading above their IPO prices. Several of them are trading substantially higher than their debuts:

  • Marketo (MRKO) is up 90% since debuting at $13 on May 16
  • Tableau Software (DATA) is up 65% since debuting at $31 on May 16
  • ING U.S. (VOYA) is up 46% since debuting at $19.50 on May 1
  • Insys Therapeutics (INSY) is up 36% since debuting at $8 on May 2
  • PennyMac (PFSI) is up 22% since debuting at $18 on May 8

Five other companies that debuted this month have seen their stocks rise at least 20% from their IPO price.

By any measure, it was a banner month for IPOs in May. If the next 30 days for the broad market are anywhere near as fruitful as the previous 31, then June could be another big month.

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