Biotech firm Prime Medicine valued at $1.8 bln in strong debut (updated)

Prime Medicine

20/10/2022 17:45

(Adds IPO details, background)
       Oct 20 (Reuters) - Biotechnology firm Prime Medicine
 PRME.O  notched a valuation of about $1.8 billion in its Nasdaq
debut on Thursday, after its shares opened nearly 12% above
their offer price.
    Shares of the healthtech company started trading at $18.97
apiece, compared to its initial public offering price of $17
each.
        The offering comes at a turbulent time for the U.S.
market for listings that has come to virtual standstill after a
record 2021 amid rapidly rising interest rates, geopolitical
tensions and worries of a recession.
  
        Investor sentiment has also been dented by poor
performance of shares of companies that made multi-billion
dollar entries into public markets last year.
  
        The Renaissance IPO Index  .FTIPOUSA , which tracks a
basket of companies that recently went public, is down more than
50% so far this year. 
  
        Prime Medicine sold 10.3 million shares in its upsized
offering, raising $175 million in proceeds priced at $17 apiece,
the midpoint of its proposed range of $16 and $18 per share.
  
        J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Jefferies
are the underwriters of the offering. 
  
 (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
 ((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com;))