IPO market on track to raise $30 billion in 2015, lowest level since 2009

A burst of IPO roadshows typically kick off after Thanksgiving, as banks try to squeeze in pricings before the US IPO market window closes in mid-December. In healthy years, December can see as many as 15-20+ IPO launches, but for 2015 investors should expect a very quiet month.

Large valuation cuts and dampened first-day returns have led to positive aftermarket performance for recent IPOs (+6% since Labor Day vs. -19% for pre-Labor Day issuers), indicating that it may be an opportune time for fundamentally driven, long-term IPO investors. Renaissance Capital manages two IPO-focused ETFs, holding a market cap-weighted basket of recent initial public offerings from the US (NYSE: IPO) and internationally (NYSE: IPOS).

There have been 168 IPOs so this year, far below annual levels for both 2013 (222) and 2014 (275) levels, but above 2010-2012 (136 average), thanks to the biotech sector (one-third of all IPOs). The US IPO market has raised $30 billion year-to-date, putting it on track for the lowest year since 2009.




The data found in this post is an excerpt from Renaissance Capital's December 2015 IPO Preview, available only for subscribers of our institutional IPO research platform.