As we’re now mid-way through yet another year of investing, it’s time for us to look back to the past, and ahead to the future, and determine where the big money may lie, and where the markets may be slacking, somewhat.
2024 has, thus far, been a fairly stable year in comparison to the last two years of investing at least. Despite the markets having more than a wobble this year, both Q1 and Q2 have proved to be largely uneventful and for the most part, have presented fairly impressive gains, at least in comparison to last year, and certainly the year before.
Most investment portfolios in 2024 have grown in value fairly noticeably, particularly considering 2022 was such a poor year for investing. This year alone, the S&P 500 has risen by around 14.5%, and with stocks such as Alphabet, Microsoft, and the new darling of the stock market world Nvidia, flying as they increased collectively by 49.3% (adding roughly $2.85 trillion in market cap) between Q1 and Q2, investors are hopeful we’re now past the worst.
As the markets begin to stabilize, it’s time to look at the new IPOs on the scene and see which ones have performed, and which have flopped.
What is an IPO?
Before we can get to the new IPOs in 2024 and look at which have performed and which are struggling, we first must ensure that we’re all clear and understood with regard to what an IPO actually is.
In investment talk, IPO stands for ‘Initial Public Offering’. It is basically a small slice of a private company, available to the general public for the very first time. It basically allows investors to purchase shares in a company, so they essentially own a very small part of the company in question.
An IPO is useful because it allows companies to raise equity capital from members of the public who buy shares in the company. In order to hold an IPO, companies must first meet requirements by exchanges the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).
Companies hire investment banks in order to oversee the launch of the IPO. They will gauge demand for the company in question, determine how much the IPO is listed at (how much one share costs) set the date the IPO becomes available to investors, and more besides.
With an IPO, a company essentially goes from being a private company to a publicly owned company. Now it must adhere to strict rules and regulations set by the SEC. On the plus side, it is a fantastic way for a company to raise equity capital and make considerably more money. This offers the company the scope to grow and expand.
Just to give an example of how profitable an IPO can be, just cast your minds back to 2014 with the launch of the Alibaba Group Holding Limited IPO. Valued at just a tad under $22 billion, it was, and still is, the largest IPO ever launched in the United States of America.
Of course, that was an anomaly, but even so, it shows the power that IPOs can yield.
New IPOs in 2024: 2 Losers and 1 Winner (For Now)
As we now understand a little more about what IPOs are, it’s time to look at Q1 and Q2 in 2024, and see which IPOs launched this year have been successful, and which have flopped.
Roma Green Finance Ltd (ROMA)
Up first we have Roma Green Finance Ltd.
The IPO launched January 9, 2024. At the time, the company, which provides ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) related services, revealed that its shares would cost $4. This would represent the bottom of their target range of $4 – $5.
As the company struggled financially, it slashed its marketing costs, which only helped to drive the price down even further. Fast forward to H2 2024, and the price of one share in the company is currently hovering around $0.68, which is a huge drop in terms of percentages.
The outlook for the rest of the year isn’t much better, particularly if the company fails to grow its revenue.
Landbridge Company LLC (LB)
From a struggling IPO that failed to ever really get off the ground, to another that has shit, as they say on Reddit ‘to the moon’ we have Landbridge Company LLC, under the ticker symbol LB.
Launched just last month on June 28 2024, the IPO price was set at $17 per share.
Landbridge are a private multinational company with business interests in all manner of sectors, including oil and gas, real estate, tourism, manufacturing and trade, port and logistics, and more besides.
The IPO proved an instant hit and as of this writing (July 15 2024) reached an all-time high of $32.11 at opening. The IPO may only have been live for a little over two weeks, but thus far the results have looked very promising and forecast outlooks are optimistic that that trend will continue for the remainder of the year.
Boundless Bio Inc (BOLD)
It’s ironic that the ticker symbol of this company reads as BOLD, because that’s exactly what investors need to be if they are holding shares in this company.
The IPO launched on March 28 2024, trading on the Nasdaq for a price of $16 per share. The price however, quickly fell.
Boundless Bio, Inc, who operate as a biotechnology company (hence trading on the Nasdaq) struggled to get going over the last quarter, due in part to strong competition from other biotech companies. By Fri July 12, the price per share stood at $4.08, a drop of more than 70%.
Despite the fall in price, investors are optimistic about BOLD and there have been talks of people waiting for the stock to bottom out and then buy the dip, as it were, due to the potential of medical biotechnology. The main downside, however, is going to be the competition as the market is already nearing saturation.
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