The traditional Thanksgiving holiday break has bitten into 2017’s IPO calendar, but that is normal. One “blank check” deal was priced and traded on Monday, Nov. 20, and there’s nothing on this week’s calendar.
If history is any guide to the future, this is nothing to worry about, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. Let’s take a look.
Numbers Worth Knowing
Flipping back to 2012, there is a pattern surfacing. The SEC records show that after Thanksgiving Day, nothing was priced until the IPO curtain rose again around Dec. 1. Here are the “by-the-year” numbers for the previous five years:
- 2016: Seven IPOs were priced between Nov. 3 and Dec. 15. The first December IPO started trading on Dec. 1, 2016.
- 2015: Two IPOs were priced between Nov. 24 and Dec. 17. The first December IPO started trading on Dec. 10, 2015.
- 2014: Sixteen IPOs were priced between Nov. 20 and Dec. 18. The first December IPO started trading on Dec. 3, 2014.
- 2013: Thirteen IPOs were priced between Nov. 11 and Dec. 17. The first December IPO started trading on Dec. 3, 2013.
- 2012: Eight IPOs were priced between Nov. 20 and Dec. 18. The first December IPO started trading on Dec. 5, 2012.
What we do know is that the last 2017 IPO was priced and traded on Nov. 20. The calendar for this week, opening on Monday, Nov. 27, is clean and green, but Dec. 1 falls on Friday.
Stocks at Record Highs
There is another factor to consider. It is the U.S. stock market – and we know what it looked like on Friday, Nov. 24, 2017.
- The S&P 500 Index closed at a record high at 2,602.42 – its first close above 2,600 – UP 16.24 percent for the year.
- The NASDAQ Composite Index closed at an all-time high at 6,889.16, UP 27.98 percent for the year.
- And the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 23,557.99. (The Dow’s record high was on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, when it closed at 23,590.83.) At Friday’s close on Nov. 24, the Dow was still UP 19.21 percent for the year.
A Bustling Box Office
Now let’s turn to the SEC and its filing window. That place looked like a busy Broadway box office in November. Fifteen companies filed plans to go public and 23 updated their previous filings.
In conclusion, you see a good U.S. stock market (most indexes at closing record highs), a building IPO pipeline and history on the side of a smiling IPO calendar.
An Eye on December
For the week of Dec. 4, 2017, the IPO calendar is as clear as freshly fallen snow. But when the SEC opens its filing window again on Monday morning, anything can happen.
Stay tuned.
Disclosure: Neither the author nor anyone else on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned, nor do we trade or invest in IPOs. The author and IPOScoop.com staff do not issue advice, recommendations or opinion.