The Top IPO of 2014

Now that 2014 is winding down, it’s a good time to look at the best IPOs of the year. There were plenty of IPO winners this year, but only one company can lay claim to the title of best IPO of 2014.

Best IPO: Radius Health Inc (+388%)
Despite the massive size and all the press surrounding the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA IPO, the honors of best IPO of 2014 go to Radius Health Inc RDUS. Radius Health, a developer of treatments for osteoporosis and other women’s heath conditions, went public back in June.

After IPO shares priced at $8.00, the first day of trading was relatively uneventful. IPO investors saw the stock close up only one cent to $8.01 on the stock’s first day on the market.

However, Radius Health started gaining momentum in the weeks following the IPO, and the stock never looked back. Radius Health recently peaked as high as $42.57 last week before pulling back to its current price of $39.00. This price represents a 388 percent gain from the IPO price.

Investors that weren’t lucky enough to get in on the Radius Health IPO but acted quickly on its first day of trading have enjoyed similar gains this year.
These incredible gains are more than enough to earn Radius Health the distinction of best-performing IPO of the year 2014.
Runner Up: Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc (+316%)
This year’s runner up for best IPO goes to small cap biotech stock Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc ASPX. The California-based company is focused on developing novel treatments for orphan diseases.

After pricing its February IPO at $12.00, the high end of the projected range, Auspex stock opened for trading at $15.00 and closed its first day at $15.66.

The stock steadily climbed throughout the rest of the year, but it leaped from around $25.00 to over $50.00 a couple of weeks ago on news of positive results from a Huntington’s disease treatment study.

The current price of $49.89 represents about a 316 percent gain for IPO investors and a 233 percent gain for early open-market buyers.
Investing in IPOs can be a risky game, but, as investors in these two 2014 IPOs can attest, sometimes the payoff is fast and huge.