Finance Watch: Will Biotech Stock Rebound Keep IPOs Coming?

Two drug developers went public – Rain Therapeutics Inc. and Impel NeuroPharma, Inc. – late on 22 April, closing out a week that ended with the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) in positive territory. A rising NBI was not so remarkable in 2020 when a record number of biopharmaceutical companies launched initial public offerings, but in 2021 the index has fallen substantially from its February peak.

To date, the performance of the NBI and other closely watched barometers of biotech stock valuations, such as the iShares...