OREANDA-NEWS.  The US market has seen 481 initial public offerings this year (excluding SPAC deals), in which companies raised about $167 billion, Bloomberg calculates. That's a record level that exceeds 2020's volume. Despite this, enthusiasm for IPOs has waned at the end of the year due to volatility and underperformance. According to data compiled by the agency, shares in more than half of the companies that IPOed this year are trading below their offer price.

According to Bloomberg calculations, on average, shares of companies that went public in 2021 rose by only 1.6%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 indices have gained 20.5% and 24.7% since the start of the year, respectively, despite a significant sell-off in November. The value of the shares of the 347 companies that went public in the US in 2020 had risen by an average of 46% on the offering price by today.

Shares in South Korean online retailer Coupang, which floated a $4.6 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in March at $35 a share, have fallen 13% to $30.28 since the offering. Didi Global, the Chinese counterpart to Uber, has fallen 59% since its IPO in late June. The company floated at $14 and on December 22 it was trading at $5.78. Didi now plans to delist its US shares and float in Hong Kong.

Among the biggest offerings of 2021, electric car maker Rivian Automotive rose. The company went public in November and raised $13.7 billion. Its IPO was the 13th largest ever. A month after its debut, Rivian shares are trading at $95.58, 22% above the IPO price.

According to Nasdaq Stock Exchange president Nelson Griggs, about 30 companies will go public in January and February 2022, including those that postponed IPOs in 2021. If these offerings happen and are successful, the first half of the year will be exceptionally good for the primary market, he says.