During Covid-19 Pandemic, Biotech IPOs Already Surpass Record
So far this year, U.S.-listed biotech companies have raised roughly $9.4 billion in initial public offerings, already beating the $6.5 billion raised in all of 2018, the biggest year on record, according to Dealogic data going back to 1995.
This year’s biotech issues have jumped an average of 34% on their first day of trading, the biggest average first-day pop for the sector since the tech boom in 2000.
The recent surge in biotech stocks extends beyond IPOs, as investors chase companies working on potential vaccines to combat Covid-19. They also anticipate the industry may benefit from more investment by governments in drug discovery and development.
Still, there are reasons to be skeptical. Biotech stocks in general can tend to be volatile, depending on the success or failure of companies’ key drugs…
