Stocks had a historic year. The three major U.S. stock benchmarks rose nearly 23% on average in 2021.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, The S&P 500, and The Nasdaq Composite closed the final trading day of 2021 at 36,338.30 (19%), 4,766.18 (27%), and 15, 644.97 (21%), respectively.

However, investors counting on IPOs in 2021 for quick riches are highly disappointed. They had numerous new publicly traded companies to invest in, but their returns were anemic.

According to Barrons, more than 1,000 companies went public and raised about  $315.6 billion. 60% of this year’s IPOs were “special purpose acquisition companies” (SPACs) mergers which might explain the lackluster returns. 

FMC’s 2021 IPO DRAFT CLASS: Ranking the Top 10 Prospects

One year ago, precisely to this day,  we published the 2021 IPO Draft Class: Ranking the top 10 Prospects on this website. 6 out of 10 companies went public in 2021, but only two are trading above their IPO prices.  

2021 IPO Draft

Here’s a summary of our 2021 IPO Draft Class:

• 4 out of 10 companies decided against going public last year. Companies like Instacart and Impossible Foods want to address cash flows and profitability issues before going public.
• 4 of the six companies that went public are currently trading below their IPO prices
• 3 out of the six companies skipped the traditional public offering process. they  either directly listed or merged with special-purpose acquisition companies or SPAC
• Roblox Corporation and Rivian Automotive are up 58.47 percent and 34.7 percent of their IPO prices, respectively.

Direct Listing & SPAC-Merger

2021 IPO Draft

Nextdoor, the hyperlocal social network company connecting neighbors with everything nearby is currently trading nearly 27% below its IPO price. The company skipped the traditional IPO price and merged with SPAC.

Special-purpose acquisition companies, SPACs, empty-shell companies, or blank-check companies raise money to acquire an operating business through an initial public offering (IPO).

Both Roblox Corporation and  Coinbase Global also skipped the traditional IPO process. They allowed their existing stakeholders to sell their stocks at a market-driven price known as a direct listing.  

Companies often don’t sell new shares to institutional investors during a direct listing, which explains why they don’t raise any new money.

FMC’s 2021 IPO DRAFT CLASS: Rookie of the Year

2021 IPO Draft

The electric pickup-truck startup was the best IPO last year. The company raised $12 billion, and the stock is up 58.47 percent from the IPO price, with a market capitalization of nearly $93 billion. 

FMC’s 2021 IPO DRAFT CLASS: Best Undrafted Company

2021 IPO Draft

Affirm Holdings was not part of our 2021 most anticipated IPOs, and it was one of the best IPOs last year. The current stock price is nearly 100% of the IPO price, and the company has a healthy balance sheet.

The “buy now pay later” company provides financing for online purchases to customers who don’t have emergency funds or good credit histories. Click here to read our ten anticipated IPOs for 2022.