Oxford Immunotec Global's first day as a public company Nov. 22 turned out to be a good one, with moderate but steady gains during its Nasdaq debut.
The developer of a next-generation tuberculosis diagnostic test concluded trading at $15.22, up from a $14 opening. The price nudged higher in after-hours trading to $15.54, for total gains of about 2.1%. Not bad for the first day out, especially in the wake of a med tech IPO boomlet that some say may have already peaked.
Oxford Immunotec ($OXFD), which launched in 2002, made its debut on the public markets setting moderate expectations. The company announced early in the day that its initial public offering involved 5.36 million shares priced at $12 each (to raise about $64 million), below the projected range of $13 to $15 per share. But then it opened for trading at $14, and the price hovered around $15 throughout the day.
The company's T-SPOT blood diagnostic test for TB infection has already made major strides, having won premarket approval in the U.S., a CE mark in Europe, and also regulatory approvals and distribution agreements in China and Japan. Plans call for using the IPO money to accelerate R&D efforts and also boost sales, marketing and customer service operations.
Oxford Immunotec, which is based in the U.K. but also has a U.S. presence, filed its IPO plans earlier this fall, one of many med tech and diagnostics companies that did so. At least one other remains pending: Biocept Laboratories, which expects to potentially raise more than $25 million. On the other hand, one diagnostics outfit has pulled back. California's CardioDx, a 2012 Fierce 15 company, delayed its IPO earlier in November, blaming poor market conditions. Diagnostics outfit Veracyte ($VCYT), a 2013 Fierce 15 winner, went ahead with its IPO and raised $65 million, at the low end of its range. Foundation Medicine ($FMI) succeeded beyond expectations with its IPO earlier this fall, pulling in more than $111 million.
- here's the release
- read FierceMedicalDevices' take
Editor's Corner: Are medical device companies invited to the biotech IPO party?