The market produced 16 IPOs in October, bringing the total number of IPOs over the first 10 months of the year to 138. Gross proceeds for the month were $5.08 billion—the second highest monthly figure since September 2014—lifting gross proceeds over the first 10 months of 2015 to $23.34 billion, 66% below the $68.35 billion figure for the first 10 months of 2014, but within 10% of the first 10 month average of $25.55 billion for the 10 years preceding 2014.

Life sciences companies have accounted for 67 of the year’s IPOs, or 49% of the total, compared to 40% of all IPOs in 2014 and 28% in 2013.

The median offering size for IPOs over the first 10 months of 2015 was $96.5, little changed from the $96.0 million figure for full-year 2014. Emerging growth companies (EGCs), which have accounted for all but 10 of the year’s IPOs, have had a median offering size of $87.6 million, compared to $450.5 million for non-EGC IPO companies. The median life sciences IPO company over the first 10 months of 2015 had an offering size of $73.5 million, compared to $136.9 million for all other IPO companies.

With life sciences companies accounting for an increasing share of the IPO market, the percentage of IPO companies that are profitability has declined to 30% over the first 10 months of 2015, compared to 36% for all 2014 IPO companies and 46% in 2013.

The median annual revenue of IPO companies declined to $37.8 million over the first 10 months of 2015, down from $68.2 million for all 2014 IPO companies and $89.9 million for 2013.

The average IPO over the first 10 months of 2015 produced a first-day gain of 16%, the second highest annual average first-day gain figure since 2000 behind only the 21% average first-day gain figure for 2013. Over the first 10 month of 2015, 27% of IPOs were “broken” (IPOs whose stock closes below the offering price on their first day), equal to the percentage for full-year 2014.

At October 31, only 38% of 2015 IPO companies were trading above their offering price, and the average IPO company of 2015 was trading 5% below its offering price.

IPO activity in October consisted of offerings by the following companies listed in the order they came to market:

• NovoCure, a commercial-stage oncology company developing a novel, proprietary therapy called Tumor Treating Fields for the treatment of solid tumor cancers, priced an IPO downsized by 40% below a downwardly revised price range and declined 17% on its first day of trading.
• Performance Food Group, the third largest player by revenue in the growing $240 billion U.S. foodservice distribution industry, priced below the range and edged up 1% in first-day trading.
• Aclaris Therapeutics, a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing innovative and differentiated topical drugs to address significant unmet needs in dermatology, priced below the range and gained less than 1% on its first trading day.
• Pure Storage, a provider of all-flash data storage systems optimized end-to-end for solid-state memory, priced at the midpoint of the range and declined 6% on its first day of trading.
• Allegiance Bancshares, a provider of a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to Houston metropolitan area-based small to medium-sized businesses and individual customers, priced below the range and gained 10% in first-day trading.
• CytomX Therapeutics, an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company pioneering a novel class of antibody therapeutics based on its Probody technology platform, priced below the range and produced a first-day gain of 8%.
• CPI Card Group, a leading provider of comprehensive Financial Payment Card solutions in North America, priced below the range and ended its first day of trading with a gain of 22%.
• Cerecor, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with the goal of becoming a leader in the development of innovative drugs that make a difference in the lives of patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders, priced at the midpoint of the range and ended its first day of trading down 2% from its offering price.
• First Data, the largest merchant acquirer, issuer processor and independent network services provider in the world, enabling businesses to accept electronic payments, helping financial institutions issue credit, debit and prepaid cards, and routing secure transactions between them, priced below the range and declined 2% from its offering price in first-day trading.
• Strongbridge Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, in-licensing, acquisition and eventual commercialization of multiple complementary products and product candidates within franchises that target rare diseases, priced at the expected price and ended its first day of trading with a five cent gain.
• Ferrari, one of the world’s leading luxury brands focused on the design, engineering, production and sale of the world’s most recognizable luxury performance sports cars, priced at the top of the range and produced a first-day gain of 6%.
• Dimension Therapeutics, a leading gene therapy platform company focused on discovering and developing new therapeutic products for people living with rare diseases associated with the liver and caused by genetic mutations, priced below the range and ended its first day of trading down 17% from its offering price.
• Multi Packaging Solutions International, a leading, global provider of value-added specialty packaging solutions, focused on high complexity products for the consumer, healthcare and multi-media markets, priced below the range and gained 22% in first-day trading.
• Oasmia Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company focused on innovative treatments within human and animal oncology, priced below the range and declined 4% from its offering price in first-day trading.
• Adesto Technologies, a leading provider of application-specific, feature-rich, ultra-low power non-volatile memory products, priced at the downwardly revised expected price and produced a first day gain of 18%.
• MyoKardia, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering a precision medicine approach to discover, develop and commercialize targeted therapies for the treatment of serious and neglected rare cardiovascular diseases, priced below the range and gained 5% from its offering price in first-day trading.