IPO Year In Review: Late Rally Gives 50 Newly Public Biopharma Firms A 45.1% Average Return

First-time offerings by drug developers fell from 2018 when 67 launched, but IPO investors’ fortunes improved with a year-end rally providing a 45.1% return versus a 7.5% loss in the prior year.

IPO Initial Private Offering Stock Market Ticker Building 3d Illustration

Biopharmaceutical companies continued to aggressively pursue initial public offerings in the US during 2019 and in the end these firms gave IPO investors an average return of 45.1% as of 2 January. Conversely, 67 drug developers went public in 2018 and by the start of 2019 they had provided a -7.5% loss.

The IPO class of 2019 underwent a remarkable turnaround late in the year, since the average return for the 35 drug developers that went public during the first three quarters was -6.1% as of 30 September

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