Three IPOs raised $363 million in the past week. The two biotechs and a Chinese school operator popped an average of 21%, helping raise the year-to-date average to 8.3%.
Just one company joined the calendar, micro-cap gunshot detector ShotSpotter (SSTI), and one micro-cap company filed, DJ Basin E&P PetroShare (PRHR). We had expected more JOBS-Act filers this week as Monday marked the first day to file for companies preparing for post-Memorial Day launches.
| 3 IPOs During the Week of May 15th, 2017 | |||||
| Issuer Business |
Deal Size ($mm) |
Market Cap at IPO ($mm) |
Price vs. midpoint |
First day return |
Return at 5/19 |
| argenx (ARGX) |
$100 | $461 | 0% | +35% | +29% |
| Developing antibody therapies for rare autoimmune diseases and cancer. |
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| Bright Scholar Education (BEDU) |
$158 | $1,208 | 17% | +28% | +21% |
| Largest operator of international and bilingual schools in China. |
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| G1 Therapeutics (GTHX) |
$105 | $460 | -6% | 0% | +10% |
| Clinical-stage biotech developing novel therapeutics for cancer. |
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Bright Scholar Education Holdings (BEDU) raised $158 million in the largest deal of the week. The Chinese international and bilingual school operator priced above the range and traded up 28% in its first day, likely bolstered by strong trading by its international educator peers.
argenx (ARGX) raised $100 million at a $461 million market cap in an upsized deal that sold 54% more shares than originally anticipated. Although it was already traded on the Euronext Brussels, it went on to pop 35% as the top-performing deal of the week. The lead product candidate from its llama-based platform is an antibody for the treatment of rare autoimmune diseases that is currently in Phase 2 trials.
G1 Therapeutics (GTHX) raised $105 million to support its development of CDK4/6 inhibitors. This biotech’s lead product candidate is in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of lung cancer in combination with chemo, improving response rates and minimizing the side effects. G1 completed the deal without any listed buying from its notable backers, which include Hatteras, MedImmune and RA Capital. It closed its first day flat after pricing at the bottom of the range, but finished the week up 10%.
Additionally, Rimini Street (RMNI.XX), which had filed for an IPO back in 2014, announced it will go public through a merger with blank check company GP Investments Acquisition (GPIA), which priced its IPO in 2015.
IPO Market Snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. The Renaissance IPO Index is up 18.3% year-to-date, far ahead of the S&P 500, up 6.4%. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Ferrari (RACE) and TransUnion (TRU). The Renaissance International IPO Index is up 13.8% year-to-date, while the ACWX is up 14.1%. Renaissance Capital’s International IPO ETF (NYSE: IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Worldpay and ABN Amro. To find out if this is the best ETF for you, visit our IPO Investing page.
