Despite the market sell-off, the October IPO market was relatively active with 22 deals, and strong returns.
The month's best-performing IPOs were relatively fast-growing and unprofitable. Software unicorn Elastic, cancer diagnostics maker Guardant Health and Chinese casino Studio City averaged a 75% return from IPO.
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| 3 Best-Performing October IPOs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer Business |
Deal Size | IPO Mkt Cap | First-Day Return |
10/31 Return |
| Elastic (ESTC) Big Data search software. |
$252M | $3,165M | +94% | +89% |
| Guardant Health (GH) Next-gen cancer diagnostics. |
$238M | $1,707M | +69% | +76% |
| Studio City (MSC) Macau-based casino. |
$359M (89% insider) |
$928M | +24% | +61% |
The three worst performers all generated positive free cash flow, but went public with intense competitive pressure. Chinese scooter maker Niu Technologies, premium cooler company YETI and lithium producer Livent averaged a loss of -11% at month-end. For comparison, the Nasdaq Composite fell -9.2% in October, and September's three worst-performing IPOs averaged a loss of -21% last month.
| 3 Worst-Performing October IPOs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer Business |
Deal Size | IPO Mkt Cap | First-Day Return |
10/31 Return |
| Niu Technologies (NIU) Chinese electric scooters. |
$63M | $692M | -4% | -14% |
| YETI Holdings (YETI) Premium coolers and drinkware. |
$288M | $1,574M | -6% | -12% |
| Livent (LTHM) FMC's lithium unit. |
$340M | $2,453M | 0% | -8% |
