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Speaking of IPOs, according to a recent WSJ article, the long IPO drought may be coming to an end.  In fact, this excerpt says that investors are so eager for new issues that the only thing that might hold the market back may be the reluctance of private companies to take the plunge:

In the past several weeks, the major barriers to a resurgence in initial public offerings have lifted. U.S. stocks are climbing toward new 52-week highs, volatility is down, inflation has eased and, perhaps most important, investors are making speculative bets again.

What will determine whether the IPO market returns to a roar is now more about whether stewards of private companies want to make the transition to public ownership.

“It’s supply crimping the IPO market, not demand,” said Daniel Burton-Morgan, head of Americas Equity Capital Markets Syndicate at Bank of America. “Does that mean post Labor Day we see a more normal IPO market? Maybe. Or it could take another quarter. But at this juncture, investor demand is not the issue.”

The article notes that there are some potentially big deals in the queue for the fall, but nobody expects the market to quickly return to the scorching demand for new issues experienced during 2020-2021.

– John Jenkins