Three-quarters of large US companies that went public during the pandemic bull market are trading below their offering price, forcing some once-promising names back into private hands at fire-sale valuations.
Of more than 400 listings where companies raised at least $100mn between 2019 and 2021, 76 per cent are below the price at their initial public offering, a Financial Times analysis of Dealogic data shows. The group’s median return since their respective IPO dates is negative 44 per cent.
The laggards include such-hyped stocks as Robinhood Markets, Lyft and DoorDash, all of which went public during a market boom that ended in late 2021. The Nasdaq Composite index that contains many growth companies has fallen 32 per cent this year.