Tom McDonald is a Partner/Managing Director and Head of Business Development. He is responsible for marketing the firm’s capabilities to potential new clients as well as the institutional investment community.
No one could have predicted the events of 2020. However, given the strength and evolution of the healthcare and biotech industry over the past 12 months, the team at Westwicke has some ideas about how the upcoming year may unfold. Below, we provide insight into what the new year may bring.
Over the past several months, interest in special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) has grown exponentially. SPAC transactions serve as an alternative to traditional IPOs, and while they have existed for many years, they are currently experiencing a resurgence within several industries.
Public healthcare companies often question the best course of action during quiet periods — those stretches of time during which they should limit their interaction with Wall Street due to their knowledge of material and timely information that has not yet been disclosed. Specifically, management teams struggle to figure out what the quiet period means for their investor relations (IR) efforts.
According to some experts, the past several months have created more change in the IPO market than the last 25 to 30 years. In the recent webinar hosted by ICR Capital and Davis Polk, those experts discussed what they’ve seen in the IPO market recently, changes to standard IPO processes, and what’s to come for IPOs during the remainder of the year.
There are many things public companies must consider when disseminating news. What is the most appropriate vehicle to disclose news to investors? In some instances, you will need to file a Form 8-K, the disclosure from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). Sometimes, the news will necessitate issuing a press release. And sometimes, you will file both.
For much of the first half of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic ground most business to a halt. Biotech innovation, however, has continued in full force. Even during the turbulent first few months of the year, biotech companies have moved forward with successful IPOs.
The pandemic isn’t over, however, and cases continue to rise in parts of the U.S. What will that mean for IPOs in the second half of the year?
Today, potential investors who are interested in learning about your company will likely visit your website before anything else. To make a good first impression, your investor relations website should be informative, appealing, and easy to navigate. This will allow investors to quickly understand all the fundamentals of your business before setting up a time to meet with management.
Properly handled relationships with Wall Street analysts can play a key role in a company’s investor relations plan and overall success. However, missteps can create unnecessary problems — especially considering that analysts may share anything you say with the public markets — so executives should approach these relationships carefully. Use the checklist below to maintain effective analyst communications.
Guidance has long been a key component of any investor relations program. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, companies in different industries are now in very different positions in regards to their ability to provide guidance. Some companies may be opting to make changes to their disclosures and areas of focus; others are choosing to suspend guidance until things return to some level of normalcy and predictability.
Over the past few weeks, cities, states, and businesses have begun taking measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19. For many companies, that means encouraging or requiring employees to work from home. For others, it means cancelling conferences, meetings, and investor days.
