IPO Weekly: Nasdaq CEO Expects 2020 to be a Strong Year for IPOs

Nasdaq President and CEO Adena Friedman stated in an interview with CNBC last week that she expects initial public offerings to have another strong year due to the continued U.S. economic growth. "I think there is more and more confidence coming into the markets. I believe that people feel like it's the right time for investors to take the equity risk as these companies are coming out," Friedman noted.

While 2019 was a solid year for IPOs, as most of the new stocks performed well, Friedman also acknowledged that last year had far fewer public offering when compared to 20 years ago. In an interview with Bloomberg, Friedman stated that "the number of companies is fewer tin the public markets [recently], and we do have concerns about making sure that every person has an opportunity to tap the growth potential of the great companies that are coming out. Companies are waiting longer to go public or choosing to stay private forever...When you look at the opportunities that exist...it feels like a very healthy [IPO] environment right now."

For recent IPOs, last week only saw the introduction of two SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies. Gores Holdings IV (NASDAQ: GHIVU), entered public markets late last week with an offering amount of $400 million that came from 40 million offered shares priced at $10 each. On the same day, SCVX Corp. (NYSE: SCVXU) announced the pricing of its SPAC that was formed to focus on businesses in cybersecurity. The company had an offering of $200 million from 20 million offered shares prices at $10 each.

Here are IPOs slated to price this week:

Annovis Bio, Inc. plans to enter public trade on the New York Stock Exchange on January 29. The clinical-stage, pharmaceutical company is intending to offer an amount of $13,142,848 from 1,428,571 shares that are estimated to price between $6-$8 each.

Avadim Health, Inc. is set to debut on January 30 on the Nasdaq global with $92 million raised for public offering from 5 million shares estimated to price between $14-$15 each. The consumer healthcare products company develops and sells topical products for immune, muscular, and skin health.

Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. will also enter the nasdaq global on January 30. The oncology biotech has raised an offering amount of $184,230,000 from 8.9 million shares set to be price between $16-$18 per share.

1Life Healthcare, Inc. plans to debut on the Nasdaq global select on January 31. The healthcare operator of 77 membership-based health clinics has an offering amount of $322 million raised from 17.5 million shares that are estimated to price between $14-$16 each.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will also begin trading on Friday, with the biotech pricing on the Nasdaq global. The company has raised an offering amount of $152,734,375 from 7,812,500 shares that will be priced between $15-$17 per share.

Reynolds Consumer Products, Inc. is also set to debut on Friday on the Nasdaq global. The consumer products company will be the first IPO of 2020 to offer an amount over $1 billion, with the company raising $1,518,874,000 from 47,170,000 shares prices between $25-$28 per share.