IPO Watch: 2020 is off to a strong start as a number of mining explorers prepare to list

January is typically a quieter month for deal-flow in Australian markets.

But since January 16 there’s still been three new IPOs, and as at close of trade yesterday none of them had face-planted since joining the ASX boards. Incredible.

Leading the pack was Cosol (ASX:COS), which raised $12m from investors at 20 cents a pop and listed on Friday.

The IT provider offers software services to mining companies and energy utilities, to help customers run their capital-intensive assets more efficiently.

Cosol is looking to continue to trend of outperformance among listed Australian tech companies, as the ASX makes a concerted pivot to foster more activity in the sector.

ALSO READ: The ASX reckons the tech IPO story has further to run, and the huge US market is set to play a role

Also listing last week was Happy Valley Nutrition (ASX:HVM), which operates in another sector closely watched by investors; infant-formula nutrition.

The stock fell to 13 cents on debut last Thursday — a sharp decline from its 20-cent listing price.

But in what’s been a fairly volatile start to listed life, the company clawed back gains before jumping by around 30 per cent yesterday as markets returned from holiday.

HVM said it plans to operate a B2B commercial model, with product derived from its commercial plant based in New Zealand’s Waikato region.

And kicking off the year on January 16 was biotech stock Nyrada (ASX:NYR), which raised $8.5m from investors — also at 20 cents.

The US-based company is primarily focused on the development of two drugs — a cholesterol-lowering pill for people who don’t respond to statin medications, and a treatment for stroke and traumatic brain injury.

By close of trade yesterday the stock had climbed to 25 cents, for an early gain of 25 per cent. Here’s a chart performance summary of the three stocks to-date:

Looking ahead, another 11 companies have announced plans to list in the not-too-distant future.

Of those, more than half (six) ply their trade in mineral exploration, with the bulk of those in gold and precious metals exploration.

Here’s a list of upcoming IPOs:

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.

Company	ASX Code	Expected listing date	Industry	Issue price	Fund raising ($M)
ARMnet	AR1	26/02/2020	IT/software (financial services)	0.2	11
Castile Resources	CST	29/01/2020	Copper-gold explorer	0.2	20
Emerald Clinics	EMD	07/02/2020	Healthcare	0.2	8
Kaiser Reef	KAU	27/02/2020	Gold explorer	0.2	4.5
Little Green Pharma	LGP	07/02/2020	Medicinal cannabis	0.45	10
Metal Hawk	MHK	TBA	Nickel-gold explorer	0.2	5.5
Nemex Resources	NXR	TBA	Mineral explorer - gold and base metals	0.2	5
Nicheliving Holdings	NLH	TBA	Residential property developer	0.5	12
Tartana Resources	TNA	TBA	Copper-zinc explorer	0.2	6
thedocyard	TDY	14/02/2020	Cloud-based transaction software	0.2	5