Is The IPO Market Finally Heating Back Up?

The IPO market is getting back to normal.

Or not.

Maybe it’s all in how you look at it.

As Bloomberg reported on Thursday (May 26), some companies are tapping the public route, months after first moving to embrace that volatile direction. The newswire did note that the debut of GMS, backed by private equity, joined several other IPOs in the week that ended the last full week of May, notching the busiest week all year long.

IPOs may be staggered in the amount they raise. After all, GMS raised a bit more than $140 million in its debut, while a few other firms bowed as well. Among them: US Foods Holding took in a relatively impressive $1 billion, grabbing an 8 percent gain in its first trading session, to just under $25 per share.

Health care payments firm Cotiviti fared less well. The firm slid 10 percent in its debut.

Lest you think this is a full head of steam, keep in mind that the 36 public debuts seen this year mark the slowest pace since the great financial recession. The reasons are numerous, as volatility from this past summer reverberated through the remainder of the year and China and global slowdowns helped freeze things up even more. Last year, by this time, 73 companies went public.

What’s down the pike? In tech land, the latest salvo has been fired by Twilio, an application technology company that, like many others, has private equity firepower at the ready.