Praxis sees strongest first-day among trio of IPOs as NASDAQ nears $16B raised in fresh paper

Among a trio of clinical biotechs pricing IPOs ahead of Friday’s NASDAQ session, demand was highest for Praxis as the company posted a 46% gain, while the reception was more muted for Aligos and Tarsus before an afternoon surge lifted the latter’s shares.

The deals bring to 69 the number of IPOs on the exchange this year, already a record. The companies have collectively raised $15.9 billion in the offerings, also a record. The year’s IPO class has already more than doubled the aggregated capital raised versus the full year 2000, the high-water mark just before the dot.com bubble burst to which most biotech IPO classes are still compared. ...