The Top 7 IPOs to Watch in May 2017

Private companies are racing to go public in 2017, which is why we're keeping track of the top IPOs to watch for Money Morning Members.

According to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO-focused ETFs, 45 IPOs have priced as of May 1, 2017. That's an increase of 181% from the number of IPOs during the same period in 2017.

IPOs to watch

As a service to Money Morning Members today, we've compiled some of the top IPOs to watch this month to help keep track of all the newly listed companies. And we're watching these public offerings specifically because of how well other recent IPOs have performed in the same sectors.

Three of the companies are in the healthcare field. During Q1 2017, the average IPO return of healthcare stocks was 15.8%, according to Renaissance Capital.

Three of the other companies we're watching are in real estate, construction, and finance, which have all seen profitable IPOs this year, too.

The last company we're watching is in the energy field. While energy IPOs have lagged other IPO returns in Q1 2017, with an average loss of 13.2%, there weren't any energy companies that went public in Q1 2016. In comparison, five energy companies went public in Q1 2017. That suggests the executives of these companies feel more confident about their ability to raise capital to expand their businesses.

That makes energy stocks still worth watching.

Trending: Top IPOs to Watch in 2017

For your convenience, we've compiled the most important information about these seven May 2017 IPOs all in one table, which includes:

  • Stock symbols
  • Prices
  • Expected trade dates

We've also provided an overview of the business for each company. Plus, we'll also provide a special bonus profit opportunity that is only available to a limited number Money Morning Members today.

We'll get to that profit opportunity in just a bit.

But first, we had to make sure you saw our list of IPOs to watch right now, because three of these companies are expected to trade to the public in the next two days...

Our Top IPOs to Watch for May 2017

Our accompanying table contains the company name, stock symbol, expected IPO pricing, and expected trade date of each soon-to-be publicly traded company.

Company Stock Symbol Price Expected Trade Date
Biohaven Pharmaceutical BHVN $14-$16 5/4/2017
Liberty Oilfield Services BDFC $16-$19 5/4/2017
UroGen Pharma URGN $12-$14 5/4/2017
Ovid Therapeutics OVID $15-$17 5/5/2017
Guaranty Bancshares GNTY $26-$28 5/8/2017
ASV Holdings ASV $8-$10 5/8/2017
Five Point Holdings FPH $18-$20 5/10/2017

And as promised, here is an overview of each company...

Top IPOs to Watch in May 2017 No. 7: Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding

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Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.

It develops late-stage products for neurological diseases, including rare disorders.

According to its website, Biohaven is developing a product for the acute treatment of migraines and is also developing a product for the treatment of ataxia (a non-specific clinical manifestation that implies dysfunction of the nervous system).

The Biohaven IPO could raise $125 million, and BHVN shares are expected to price between $14 and $16 per share.

Top IPOs to Watch in May 2017 No. 6: Liberty Oilfield Services

Liberty Oilfield Services (NYSE: BDFC) is a premier hydraulic fracturing services company headquartered in Denver.

According to its website, Liberty provides customer-focused service from the Permian Basin to the DJ Basin, Williston Basin, and Powder River Basin.

The hydraulic fracturing company also provides the latest innovations in custom fluid systems, perforating strategies, and pressure analysis techniques.

The Liberty Oilfield IPO could raise $400 million, and BDFC shares are expected to price between $16 and $19 per share.

Top IPOs to Watch in May 2017 No. 5: UroGen Pharma Ltd.

Like Biohaven, UroGen Pharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: URGN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. But it develops novel therapies to change the standard of care for urological pathologies (urological conditions include prostate cancer and bladder cancer).

Its current pipeline of drugs includes:

  • MitoGel: A sustained release formulation of the chemotherapy agent Mitomycin C for the treatment of low-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).
  • VesiGel: A sustained release formulation of a high dose Mitomycin C for the treatment of low-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (LG-NMIBC).
  • Vesimune is a new formulation of the TLR7 agonist Imiquimod for local intravesical delivery for the treatment of carcinoma in situ (CIS), a high-grade form of NMIBC.
  • BotuGel is a novel intravesical sustained release formulation of botulinum toxin for overactive bladder (OAB) and interstitial cystitis (IC).

The UroGen Pharma IPO could raise $45 million, and URGN shares are expected to price between $12 and $14 per share.

Top IPOs to Watch in May 2017 No. 4: Ovid Therapeutics

Ovid Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OVID) is a biopharmaceutical company that's developing medicines for rare neurological disorders.

Its OV101 program is focusing on treating Angelman syndrome (a genetic disorder that causes developmental disabilities and nerve-related symptoms) and Fragile X syndrome (causes mild to severe intellectual disability).

Its OV935 program is developing potential therapies for people with rare epilepsies.

The Ovid IPO could raise $80 million, and OVID shares are expected to price between $15 and $17 per share.

Top IPOs to Watch in May 2017 No. 3: Guaranty Bancshares

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The History of Guaranty

Guaranty Bancshares (Nasdaq: GNTY) was founded in Texas in 1913. The financial institution has 26 bank locations in 18 Texas communities and 397 employees.

It provides financial services for individuals and businesses, along with mortgages and wealth management services. According to Nasdaq.com, Guaranty had $67 million in revenue for the 12 months ended Dec. 21, 2016.

The Guaranty IPO could raise $54 million, and GNT shares are expected to price between $26 and $28 per share.

Top IPOs to Watch in May 2017 No. 2: ASV Holdings

ASV Holdings (Nasdaq: ASV) is a designer and manufacturer of compact construction equipment. According to its website, ASV uses unique and patented rubber track undercarriage technology for vehicles used for construction, landscaping, forestry, and agriculture.

This technology allows exceptional traction for vehicles on soft, wet, and slippery or hilly terrain.

The company markets its products through distribution networks in North America, New Zealand, and Australia under the ASV and Terex brands.

The ASV IPO could raise $34.2 million, and ASV shares are expected to price between $8 and $10 per share.

Top IPOs to Watch in May 2017 No. 1: Five Point Holdings

Five Point Holdings (NYSE: FPH) develops mixed-use, master-planned communities in coastal California.

Its communities offer homes, commercial, retail, educational, and recreational elements.

For example, Five Point's "San Francisco Shipyard/Candlestick" community has a shuttle that offers access to downtown San Francisco. It also offers a specialty general store featuring artisans ranging from candle crafters to honey makers.

The FPH IPO could raise $399 million, and FPH shares are expected to price between $18 and $20 per share.

After reading through this list, our readers are asking, "Should I buy any of these IPOs?"

Avoid Inflated IPO Prices

Unfortunately for anxious investors, the answer is no. Money Morning doesn't recommend buying in at IPO prices for two reasons. The first is because IPOs are known for volatile price swings.

For example, the Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) stock price opened at $24 per share on March 2. On March 3, shares were trading at an intraday high of $29.44. That's a respectable profit of 22.66% in just one day.

However, when the hype died down, shares of SNAP fell to an intraday low of $18.90 on March 17. For investors who purchased shares at Snap's opening price of $24 on March 2, that's a loss of 21.5%.

What's worse is some investors who bought SNAP at its intraday high of $29.44 and panicked and sold their shares on March 17 suffered a staggering loss of 35.8%.

And this brings me to the second reason retail investors should avoid most IPOs: The biggest gains are made by insiders.

You see, hedge funds, big banks, and wealthy insiders didn't panic when shares of Snap dropped to $18.90 per share. That's because they were able to own Snap stock early and only paid $17 per share.

So while some investors lost more than 35% when Snap traded for $18.90, insiders were still up 11.17%.

And with Snap opening at $22.37 per share, they are still up 31% just because they were able to get in early. Netting these gains didn't require any special skill or strategy. These rich investors just sat back and watched their shares climb.

Is it fair? No, but that's how Wall Street works. Retail investors can't own shares of a private company early.

Up Next: Investing in startup companies is usually reserved for big financial firms, hedge funds, and well-connected individuals, leaving retail investors on the sidelines. But one way around this is to invest indirectly in a startup via shares of an established company – like this one...

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