IPO Market Closes August With a Whimper

The bad news from the initial public offering (IPO) market last week is than no company was able to enter the public market. The good news is that five new IPO filings were made last week and that IPO activity has picked up in the technology sector.

Through the week ending August 26, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 59 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, down 55% from a year ago and unchanged from last week. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $9.8 billion, down more than 56% compared with the same period in 2015. Of the 59 IPOs that have gone off this year, 30 have come from the healthcare sector. Last year’s IPO total came in at $30 billion on 170 offerings. Renaissance Capital does not include “best efforts” or blank-check companies in its totals, nor does it include IPOs that raise less than $10 million.

Renaissance Capital also noted some positives:

No companies went public this [past] week, but with five new filings the IPO market is already showing signs of an active September, particularly in the tech sector. The VIX Volatility Index is comfortably below 15, the average IPO from 2016 has returned 28% and four-fifths of deals trade above issue. For companies that have raised $100 million or more, the average return is an impressive 45%.

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Continuing to be listed as day-to day is Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing therapeutic agents to treat and prevent certain pre-cancerous conditions, orphan diseases, and gastrointestinal conditions. The company downsized it offering from 1.9 million shares to 1.25 million in an expected price range of $12 to $14 to raise $16.3 million at an implied market cap of $87.9 million. Sole bookrunner for the offering is Aegis Capital Corp. Shares are expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CPP.

Last week’s sole IPO prospect may still be going to try again in the coming week. AzurRx Biopharma is developing non-systemic biologics for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. The company plans to offer 2.1 million shares in an expected price range of $6 to $8 to raise $15 million at an implied market cap of around $76 million. Joint bookrunners for the offering are WallachBeth Capital and Network 1 Financial Securities. The IPO is listed as “TBA” and is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AZRX if and when the public offering is made..

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