Renaissance Capital logo

These will be the first IPOs of 2019

January 9, 2019

As expected, the 2019 US IPO market is off to a slow start. This is largely driven by three factors:

1. January is typically a less active month for IPOs
2. The market's recent downturn and spike in volatility makes it difficult to price new deals
3. There will be no IPOs until the US's partial government shutdown is resolved

However, recent filings point to the most likely candidates for 2019's first IPOs. Continuing a major theme of last year, these have mostly been biotechs and Chinese companies, despite some recent poor returns from both groups. Biotechs are not impacted by broader economic forces, and for both biotechs and Chinese companies, many recent IPOs included significant insider buying, in several cases over 75% of the offering.

Explore the full IPO pipeline and get new filing alerts delivered to your inbox with IPO Pro, Renaissance Capital's premium IPO market portal.

Start a Free Trial of IPO Pro

Seven biotechs have submitted initial filings in the past few weeks, notably Gossamer Bio (GOSS), which plans to raise $265 million, and Alector (ALEC), on file for $150 million.

7 Recent Biotech IPO Filings
Issuer
Est. Deal
Size
File Date Lead
Underwriter
Alector (ALEC) $150M 01/07/19 Morgan Stanley
Anchiano Therapeutics (ANCN) $35M 01/07/19 Oppenheimer
Poseida Therapeutics (PSTX) $115M 01/04/19 Citi
Stealth BioTherapeutics (MITO) $86M 12/28/18 Jefferies
TCR2 Therapeutics (TCRR) $100M 12/28/18 Jefferies
Harpoon Therapeutics (HARP) $86M 12/27/18 Citi
Gossamer Bio (GOSS) $265M 12/21/18 BofA ML


Meanwhile, four Chinese companies have filed for US IPOs since mid-December, including a $300 million proposed offering from fast-growing online brokerage Futu (FHL). The other three are micro-caps.

4 Recent IPO Filings from China-based Companies
Issuer
Est. Deal
Size
File Date Lead
Underwriter
Powerbridge Technologies (PBTS) $15M 01/04/19 Maxim
Futu Holdings (FHL) $300M 12/28/18 Goldman
Fit Boxx Holdings (FBOX) $20M 12/27/18 WestPark Cap.
Jiayin Group (JFIN) $58M 12/19/18 Roth Cap.


Aside from those, a number of other filings from January and late 2018 could launch offerings when government agencies eventually re-open. Some of the largest include Blackstone's subprime auto lender Exeter Finance (XTF), LBO'd hospital operator Ardent Health (ARDT), Canadian casino operator Gateway Casinos (GTWY), gene-edited crop company Cibus (CBUS), Florida railway operator Virgin Trains USA (VTUS), and plant-based burger company Beyond Meat (BYND).

6 Other Recent IPO Filings
Issuer
Est. Deal
Size
File Date Lead
Underwriter
Exeter Finance (XTF) $100M 01/08/19 Citi
Beyond Meat (BYND) $100M 12/16/18 Goldman
Ardent Health (ARDT) $400M 12/04/18 Barclays
Gateway Casinos (GTWY) $100M 11/20/18 Morgan Stanley
Cibus (CBUS) $100M 11/16/18 Morgan Stanley
Virgin Trains USA (VTUS) $100M 11/16/18 Barclays