Posted on March 29th, 2022. Posted by Patti Bank
Over the last 25 years, I have listened to hundreds of earnings calls. As a sell-side analyst, they were a routine and not-much-fun part of the job. Four times a year, you lock yourself in your office and listen to call after call of management teams highlighting their achievements or trying to sugar coat the not-so-positive news.
Most of the calls were pretty standard, and came off as well thought-out and comprehensive. But every so often you would hear that call where the sell-side analysts were unforgiving in their questions and the tone was so negative you almost feel bad for the management team. In my role here at ICR Westwicke, I’ve learned what really goes on behind the scenes to make those effective earnings calls appear effortless: a lot of hard work and practice starting about a month ahead of time. Who would have ever thought?
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Posted on June 9th, 2021. Posted by Patti Bank
A well-planned and executed research and development (R&D) day can reinforce a company’s message, heighten a company’s visibility, and allow a management team to highlight their investment thesis. It can be an effective and efficient investor relations tool if done correctly.
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Posted on October 8th, 2020. Posted by Patti Bank
The challenges of functioning successfully in an extended COVID-19 environment have presented many new ways of doing business. This is especially evident for events such as non-deal roadshows (NDRs).
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Posted on November 14th, 2019. Posted by Patti Bank
The decision to host a company research and development (R&D) event for investors and analysts should not be taken lightly. Beyond the associated costs, the amount of time it takes to properly prepare is a big endeavor and can be a significant distraction to a company’s management team. Continue Reading
Posted on January 29th, 2019. Posted by Patti Bank
Your leadership spends a lot of time developing and writing public messages about your company’s story — whether a press release, the corporate deck, or the script of an earnings call. And while the intended audience is often the investment community, it’s important to consider what other constituencies will read these public documents. Your competitors, the media, and even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will likely read your news as well.
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Posted on April 18th, 2018. Posted by Patti Bank
Who doesn’t want new analyst coverage for their stock? As new coverage is generated, your stock becomes more visible, which, in turn, can potentially create more demand. When strategizing on which analysts make the most sense to cover your stock, there are several factors to consider. First and foremost, the main thing you should keep in mind is that getting the analysts you want to follow your stock is usually challenging and can typically take time, so set your expectations about new analyst coverage accordingly.
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Posted on September 14th, 2017. Posted by Patti Bank
Attending Wall Street investment banking conferences is a large part of a strategic investor relations plan. Along with non-deal road shows, management’s visibility and interaction with buy-side accounts during one-on-one meetings are critical for conveying your story to potential investors, addressing unanswered questions, and expanding on an investment theme. But, finding the appropriate conference strategy can be harder than it seems, especially when it comes to lining up a successful meeting schedule with key buy-side accounts.
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Posted on May 17th, 2017. Posted by Patti Bank
With our colleagues at NASDAQ, we recently co-hosted an informational luncheon for private-company CEOs and CFOs on the IPO process. Guest speakers included a life science venture capital investor and a CFO of a company that went public in 2016.
The management teams in the audience for the well-attended event had plenty of questions for our guests, on everything from how to prepare for an IPO to avoiding pitfalls to making the transition to being a public company.
Our speakers had much to say. Below are a few of their most important pieces of advice:
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Posted on August 10th, 2016. Posted by Patti Bank
While the window for IPOs has been closed for most of this year, there have been signs of hope recently, with several transactions being priced. However, some bankers we speak to think it may not be until early 2017 that the overall market for life sciences companies really comes back.
Although disappointing for management teams that are trying to responsibly conserve their cash until better days, we think the wait could actually be a good thing for many companies. The extra time allows you to better polish your story and message, and build critical new relationships with potential investors. We think the remainder of 2016 is a pivotal time to be busily prepping ahead of a potential upturn in the market.
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Posted on December 16th, 2015. Posted by Patti Bank
I recently was able to sit in on a “banker bake-off.” It was very interesting to sit on the side of the table with the management team and hear how the various banks “pitch” their strengths. It didn’t take long to identify how each bank brings something unique to the table.
One bank talked about its relationships with the buy-side accounts while another bank highlighted its research analysts’ expertise in the company’s therapeutic space, and yet a third bank spoke highly of its track record for successfully getting private companies public.
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