IPOs: A Look at Last Week and the Week Ahead

February 9, 2014 by Paul Ausick

IPOInitial public offerings (IPOs) have skyrocketed so far in 2014, particularly for new biotech firms. According to the Financial Times, eight biotech firms raised a total of more than $500 million last week alone.

Here’s a look at two IPOs from last week that were not biotech firms and two of the biotechs’ IPOs.

Ladder Capital Corp. (NYSE: LADR) priced its offering of 13.25 million shares on Wednesday night at $17, at the mid-point of its expected range of $16 to $18 a share. Underwriters have a 30-day option on an additional 1.99 million shares. Ladder raised approximately $226 million in the IPO. Shares opened Thursday at around $16.50 but finished the first day of trading at $16.99. They closed Friday at $17.30. Ladder is a commercial real-estate finance firm that uses a proprietary platform to originate conduit loans. It bundles the loans and sells them commercial backed mortgage securities (CMBS).

Continental Building Products Inc. (NYSE: CBPX) priced its IPO on Tuesday night at $14, below the expected range of $16 to $18 a share. Shares opened at $14.52 on Wednesday and hit an intraday high of $17.74 on Thursday. They closed on Friday at $17.30. The company raised $165.2 million on the offering of 11.8 million shares. The company makes and sells gypsum board to the construction industry.

Revance Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RVNC) sold 6 million shares in its Thursday IPO at $16 a share, the high-end of its expected range of $14 to $16. The company increased its offering by 1 million shares and raised $96 million in the offering. The company is working on a Botox product applied directly to the skin without injections. Shares closed at $26.85 on Thursday and at $28 on Friday for a two-day gain of 75%.

uniQure BV (NASDAQ: QURE) priced its Wednesday IPO at $17, well above the expected range of $13 to $15 a share. The company sold also boosted the number of shares in the offering from 4.6 million to 5.4 million and granted underwriters a 30-day option on an additional 880,000 shares. The gene-therapy company raised about $82 million, but the share price closed at around $14.60 on Wednesday before dropping to $13.41 at Thursday’s close. Shares gained a bit back on Friday, closing at $14.79, down 13% from the IPO price.

For the coming week, there are four more biotech IPOs lined up:

Flexion Therapeutics Inc. is expected to begin trading on Wednesday. The firm is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing injectable pain therapies. The company plans to offer 5 million shares in an expected price range of $12 to $14 which would yield net proceeds of around $65 million. Shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FLXN.

Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is scheduled to begin trading on Thursday, also focuses on developing injectable products primarily the areas of critical care and oncology. The company will offer 3.3 million shares in an expected range of $14 to $16 and anticipates net proceeds of $50 million. Shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol EGRX.

Amedica Corp. is a medical device maker that plans to begin trading on Wednesday. The IPO will offer 3.2 million shares and is expected to price in a range of $10 to $12 and raise about $35 million. The stock will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AMDA.

Semler Scientific Inc. is expected to start trading on Friday. The company provides tools to allow healthcare providers identify risk profiles of patients. Semler will offer 1.2 million shares in an expected price range of $12 to $14 and anticipates raising $16 million. The stock will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SMLR.

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