US IPO Weekly Winners & Losers

Inflation isn’t cooling as fast as anticipated. Not too long ago, that would have sent markets into a tailspin, but this time around it was just a glitch.

Despite Tuesday's inflation-induced downdraft, the Renaissance IPO Index finished up +4.1% and ended the week in positive territory YTD for the first time this year. The S&P 500 slid -0.4%, but still closed Friday near its all-time peak.

The key takeaway: We’re still in an upcycle. The IPO market just had its best run of the year to date. Volatility is settling. Movement in the backlog points to an imminent pickup in new issuance. And while bad news may make some waves, getting back to "business as usual" takes much less time than it did a year ago.

Out in Silicon Valley, SVB is reportedly hiring bankers again, nearly a year after its collapse. It could signal renewed confidence in the tech sector. And if Reddit IPO's in March as expected, we may see more large tech issuers willing to test public markets.

We’re still in the seasonal February lull, so no major IPOs to report. Just two very small issuers listed this week, a drone tech developer (UMAC) and a pain relief biotech (CHRO). Both were too small for our IPO stats, and both finished below issue.

App development platform AppLovin led the IPO Index’s winners, up +29.2% on bullish financial forecasts. Energy storage company Fluence Energy landed at the bottom, trading off -14.6%.