Castlight, Achaogen, Dipexium, Galmed: The Week’s IPOs
ThinkstockOf four initial public offerings (IPOs) last week, three were pharmaceutical firms and one was a software company that makes a product related to healthcare. Medicines and healthcare remain the strongest sectors for IPOs so far this year. Castlight Health…
Of four initial public offerings (IPOs) last week, three were pharmaceutical firms and one was a software company that makes a product related to healthcare. Medicines and healthcare remain the strongest sectors for IPOs so far this year.
Castlight Health Inc. (NYSE: CSLT) was easily the most anticipated and the most successful of of the IPOs. The healthcare software provider sold 11.1 million class B shares at $16 a share, much higher than the original expected range of $9 to $11 and above a Tuesday revision that raised the range to $13 to $15 a share. Friday’s IPO raised net proceeds of around $161 million based on the IPO price. Shares closed at $39.80, up 148.75% from the IPO price. The shares reached as high as $41.95 a share early in the day.
Achaogen Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAO) priced its Wednesday IPO of 6 million shares at $12 a share, the low end of its expected range. The development stage drug company is working on antibiotics to treat drug-resistant infections. Shares jumped 19% on Wednesday, closing at $14.31 and have since added nearly an additional $2 a share to close at $16.16 on Friday. While that was down 1.1% from Thursday, the shares ended the week up nearly 35% from the IPO.
Dipexium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRX) held its IPO on Thursday after pricing 2.75 million shares at $12 a share, again the low end of its expected range. Dipexium is a late-stage biopharma that is developing a treatment for mild infections of diabetic foot ulcers. Shares closed at $14.04 on the first day of trading, but lost more than 4.5% on Friday to close at $13.40.
Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLMD) priced its Thursday IPO at $13.50 a share for 2.84 million shares, slightly above the mid-point of its expected range of $12 to $14 a share. Galmed is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is developing a once-a-day oral therapy for treatment of liver diseases and cholesterol gallstones. Shares closed at $14.31 on Thursday and rose nearly 2.4% to close at $14.65 on Friday. The stock price peaked at $18.73 on Thursday.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
