The Westwicke Blog is designed to deliver information and insights into the ever-changing world of healthcare communications.
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?
The continued uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to present unique challenges for public company management teams as they report Q2 earnings and attempt to provide the investment community with an appropriate update on the business.
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.
In January, we made three predictions about the IPO market in 2020 — but no one could have predicted the current market conditions and business ramifications as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Companies across the globe have had to change the way they do business, from transitioning to a remote workforce to making changes to their supply chain.
With coronavirus spread on the rise, we’ve only begun to see the impact in the U.S. and witness its full expression in the world. These are, without question, uncertain times. And people are actively searching for information online: “coronavirus” may be the largest Google search trend in history, and every 45 milliseconds someone searches the term “coronavirus” on Twitter. There is information overload and a serious appetite for more.
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.
During the year (or more) before your company goes public, you’ll be in a constant state of activity, from building relationships with investors, bankers, and sell-side analysts, to engaging in test-the-waters meetings. However, once your S-1 flips public, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that you wait 15 days before your road show begins. That doesn’t mean you should sit back and relax, though. Use this checklist to maintain your company’s momentum and progress during this time.
Any company looking to attract market attention today shouldn’t underestimate the importance of a sophisticated corporate website with a high quality investor relations section.
Potential investors interested in learning more about your firm will likely visit your website before anything else, so put your best foot forward by making your IR website appealing and its pages informative and easy to navigate.
