Objectively speaking, 2024 has been a boring year for tech startup IPOs.
Only a handful of American high-tech unicorns have made it to market. Biotech products are also plentiful, but well below historical highs.
Aftermarket performance doesn’t follow a dramatic story either. Some have risen significantly from their initial prices, others have fallen significantly, and many appear to be relatively flat.
Still, there are some standouts among them. Below, we pick the winners and losers of venture-backed technology and biotech companies, focusing on large and mid-sized IPOs.
top technology performer
Among the larger tech products, this year’s clear winner is Reddit. The popular discussion platform’s stock has risen 332%* since the company’s March IPO, giving it a market capitalization of nearly $26 billion.
Next up is Astera Labs, whose stock has risen 214% since going public in March. The AI and cloud connectivity technology provider was recently valued at approximately $18 billion.
Other companies doing well include location-sharing app Life360, data security provider Rubrik, and delivery robot developer Serve Robotics.
Underperforming high-tech companies
Underperforming IPOs include many companies headquartered or incorporated outside the United States.
One is Webtoon Entertainment, a storytelling platform founded in South Korea and headquartered in Los Angeles. The company’s stock has lost about a third of its value since its IPO pricing in June.
Gougee, an Israeli manufacturer of LCD controllers and films, has also been underperforming, with its stock losing about half its value since going public in June.
Meanwhile, Denver-based shopping cashback app Ibotta is down about 17% from its asking price and 34% from its all-time high.
Top performers in biotechnology
Biotech companies that debuted on the public market this year also had their share of ups and downs.
On the bright side, CG Oncology stands out, developing a treatment for bladder cancer. The company’s stock price soared on the first day of trading in January and rose further after positive clinical trial results. As of this week, the stock is up about 90% from its offering price.
Another strong performer is Ceribell, a developer of electroencephalography technology for diagnosing and managing serious neurological conditions. Shares have risen 70% since the company completed its IPO in October.
Other companies whose stock prices have risen significantly since their IPOs include cancer drug developer ArriVent BioPharma and drug discovery startup Septerna.
Underperforming biotech companies
Other biotech companies have less to celebrate about their post-IPO performance.
One of the worst-performing companies is Metagenomics, a company developing new genome-editing tools that raised more than $450 million in venture funding before going public in February. Since then, the company’s stock price has fallen by more than four-fifths.
Fibrobiologics, a startup that uses cells known as fibroblasts for regenerative medicine, also had a disappointing performance. The stock has lost more than two-thirds of its value since its debut in January with a base price of $8 via direct listing.
Fractyl Health, which develops treatments that target the root causes of obesity and diabetes, is another laggard. Since its debut in February under the ticker symbol GUTS, the company’s stock price has fallen more than 80%.
Overall, IPOs are on the rise, but underperforming major indexes.
Overall, more companies have gone public this year at more companies than undercut their public offering prices.
According to IPOScoop.com, of the 168 companies listed on US exchanges in 2024, about 56% are currently trading above their asking price. In total, the total return is approximately 8%.
I don’t think that’s bad. However, it would have been better to simply invest in the NASDAQ Composite Index. The Nasdaq Composite Index is up about 35% for the year.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
*When calculating post-IPO gains, we look at when the company priced its stock before the first trade.
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