Life sciences IPOs are still humming along, as both Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FMI]]) and Ophthotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPHT]]) found out today when they made their public debuts.
The day’s big winners were the pre-IPO investors of Cambridge, MA-based Foundation. The cancer diagnostics company priced its offering last night at $18 per share and closed at $35.35, nearly doubling its value in one day of trading on the Nasdaq. That means big returns for investors like Third Rock Ventures, which invested about $26 million in Foundation and held 30.9 percent of the company prior to the offering; and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which invested around $20 million and held a 16.6 percent stake before the IPO, according to SEC filings.
While New York-based Ophthotech didn’t have the same breakout on its first day of trading, its shares still managed to gain about 20 percent in its debut, jumping from a $22 per share IPO price to $26.25 when the trading day ended. Ophthotech sold 7.6 million shares in its offering, and expects to net $152.4 million after commissions and other expenses are taken into account. Two of Ophthotech’s largest shareholders, Novo A/S and HBM Healthcare Investments, have also indicated they want to buy $15 million more of its stock at the IPO price: Novo may buy 455,000 shares, and HBM might add 266,000 shares, regulatory filings show.
Novo held 28.65 percent of Ophthotech’s shares before the IPO; HBM owned 15.2 percent.
San Diego-based Evoke Pharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EVOK]]) also began trading today, but didn’t fare as well. After pricing its IPO at $12 per share, the low end of its range, Evoke’s stock traded down to $11.74 during its first trading day. Its largest investors are Domain Associates and Latterell Venture Partners, each with a roughly 31 percent ownership stake prior to the IPO.
