US ECM activity is off to a busier start to the year than last year and the IPO pipeline is quickly expanding in an auspicious sign for 2024.
The holiday-shortened first week of the year saw seven companies price US$1.4bn of follow-ons, mostly from the healthcare sector ahead of a large industry conference in the coming week.
This was far busier than the opening week of 2023, which brought just one US$200m biotech follow-on and presaged an improved but still sub-par year for overall ECM issuance.
December and January have also seen an uptick in IPOs, including from companies such as Amer Sports, Kaspi.kz and BrightSpring Health Services that could bring large offerings near-term.
The coming week promises only one IPO pricing as homebuilder Smith Douglas Homes seeks to price a mixed primary/secondary offering of 7.7m shares at US$18–$21 after Wednesday's close.
Follow-on activity could pick up (nearly US$2bn was raised in the second week of last year) though from companies in sectors outside the healthcare sector, the JP Morgan healthcare conference in San Francisco usually limits funding opportunities for biotechs.
Though the backlog of IPO launches is building fast, a looming public holiday on January 15 (Martin Luther King Jr Day) will discourage companies from launching lengthy roadshows until after that date.
The looming financial staleness deadline in mid-February tends to curb issuance in that month, though some recent filers have hinted they intend to move ahead before then.