THE UNDERPRICING OF NASDAQ IPOS IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR FROM MARCH 2020 TO APRIL 2021

Abstract

The research analyzes the average level of underpricing for companies in the Healthcare sector, listed on the Nasdaq from March 2020 to the end of April 2021. The COVID19 pandemic, which has developed all over the world, has made it appropriate for many companies in the sector to be listed in stock markets for the collection of Equity to finance the development of vaccines, drugs and equipment, directly or indirectly linked to the expansion of the Pandemic. There is a very high underpricing, even comparing it with that relating to all sectors of the economy, in the same time interval. The introduction indicates the research hypotheses to be tested; the second paragraph examines the prevailing doctrine on the subject, highlighting the differences in the nonidentical time frames and in the different stock markets of reference. These studies concern in particular the US stock markets, but references of analysis are reported regarding Taiwan, China, Italy and the United Kingdom. The data downloaded from the Nasdaq website is then analyzed. The research hypotheses formulated in the initial part of the work are substantially confirmed. A comparison is made with the speculative bubble formed at the end of the 90s, caused by the access to the market of many companies operating in the internet sector. An attempt to explain anomalies in the functioning of the market refers to behavioral finance and the difficulty of evaluating innovative sectors of the economy, or in any case sectors that are facing an extraordinary event.