(Reuters) – Shares of Acelyrin Inc rose 28% in their Nasdaq debut on Friday, giving the biopharma company a market capitalization of $2.1 billion.
The Los Angeles-based company, which had priced its shares at $18 apiece, raised $540 million by selling 30 million shares in an upsized offering on Thursday.
Acelyrin joins a spate of new listings recently that have fueled hopes of a recovery in IPO markets. On Thursday, Johnson & Johnson Inc’s consumer health business Kenvue Inc went public, becoming the largest public offering since Rivian Automotive Inc in 2021.
IPO markets had ground to a virtual halt for most of last year as investor appetite for new listings buckled under steep interest-rate hikes and volatility.
Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, TD Cowen and Piper Sandler are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.
(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
