Artiva Biotherapeutics surges on trading debut

Artiva Biotherapeutics (ARTV) climbed ~25% from its initial public offering price as the cell therapy developer made its public trading debut on Friday.

Following an IPO priced at $12.00 apiece, ARTV shares opened at $16.00 at about 12.55 PM ET, indicating a ~25% rise from the public offering price.

However, the stock trended lower afterward, reaching $13.89 by about 1.05 PM ET, standing only ~16% above the IPO price.

The San Diego, California-based biotech has partnered with German biotech Affimed (AFMD) to develop a drug combo involving its lead asset, AlloNK, an NK cell therapy previously known as AB-101. 

A Phase 1/1b trial for AlloNK is currently underway in lupus nephritis, with data expected in H1 2025.

Earlier in the day, Artiva (ARTV) priced its upsized public offering to sell ~13.9M shares of its common stock to raise approximately $167M in gross proceeds.

Underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to ~2.1M in shares additionally. Artiva’s (ARTV) public offering is expected to close on July 22, 2024.