In a year that’s seen a sharp decline in initial public offerings, Washington, D.C.-based Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava Group CAVA made a striking first public appearance on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, with shares opening at $42, almost doubling their IPO price of $22.
Despite an over 15% fall to $37.15 on Friday, the company’s IPO performance remains noteworthy, ranking it high on the list of best performing IPOs of 2023.
So how does Cava’s IPO performance stack up against 2023 IPO high-flyers?
First, it should be noted that there have been 71 IPOs on the U.S. stock market in 2023, according to Stock Analysis — 41.8% less than at the same point in 2022. The IPO drought can be attributed to volatile markets, inflation and the Federal Reserve's yearlong interest rate hike campaign.
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The top 10 performing IPOs of 2023:
| IPO Date | Symbol | Company Name | IPO Price | Current | Return |
| Jan 26, 2023 | GNLX | Genelux Corporation | $6.00 | $35.10 | 503.00% |
| Feb 3, 2023 | GPCR | Structure Therapeutics Inc | $15.00 | $31.99 | 105.67% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | HKIT | Hitek Global, Inc | $5.00 | $10.34 | 100.00% |
| Jun 15, 2023 | CAVA | CAVA Group | $22.00 | $38.66 | 99.00% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | SFWL | Shengfeng Development Limited | $4.00 | $7.61 | 91.25% |
| Feb 9, 2023 | NXT | Nextracker Inc | $24.00 | $41.84 | 77.42% |
| Jan 13, 2023 | SKWD | Skyward Specialty Insurance Group | $15.00 | $24.92 | 65.33% |
| Apr 20, 2023 | USGO | U.S. GoldMining Inc | $10.00 | $12.07 | 22.60% |
| May 4, 2023 | KVUE | Kenvue Inc | $22.00 | $26.04 | 18.16% |
| Feb 10, 2023 | ENLT | Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd | $18.00 | $20.09 | 11.61% |
The 10 worst performing IPOs of 2023:
| IPO Date | Symbol | Company Name | IPO Price | Current | Return |
| Feb 15, 2023 | NFTG | The NFT Gaming Company, Inc. | $4.15 | $0.80 | -80.43% |
| Apr 3, 2023 | MWG | Multi Ways Holdings Limited | $2.50 | $0.64 | -74.60% |
| Feb 9, 2023 | LSDI | Lucy Scientific Discovery Inc | $4.00 | $1.16 | -69.50% |
| Jan 20, 2023 | CVKD | Cadrenal Therapeutics, Inc | $5.00 | $1.57 | -68.80% |
| Apr 20, 2023 | WLGS | Wang & Lee Group, Inc | $5.00 | $1.68 | -65.60% |
| Jan 27, 2023 | BREA | Brera Holdings PLC | $5.00 | $1.83 | -63.60% |
| Mar 21, 2023 | MGRX | Mangoceuticals, Inc | $4.00 | $1.63 | -61.25% |
| Apr 18, 2023 | TPET | Trio Petroleum Corp | $3.00 | $1.13 | -58.33% |
| Feb 3, 2023 | ASST | Asset Entities Inc | $5.00 | $1.98 | -57.80% |
| Jan 13, 2023 | MGOL | MGO Global Inc | $5.00 | $2.07 | -57.20% |
The above data shows the stark contrast in IPO success in 2023. Cava’s almost 100% return ranks it in fourth place among the year’s top performers.
Genelux Corporation, a pharmaceutical company, tops the list with an astronomical 503% return. Similarly, Structure Therapeutics and Hitek Global also managed to deliver returns above 100%.
On the flip side, the poor performers list is led by The NFT Gaming Company, which has seen its value plummet by over 80% since its IPO. It is interesting to note the worst-performing IPOs are from a variety of sectors including gaming, biotech, energy and finance.
Despite the volatile economic environment and reduced IPO activity, Cava managed to stand out in the crowd.
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Photo courtesy of Cava.
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