BioAge Sees Double-Digit Percentage Growth Post-IPO; Natural gas producer BKV reports profits on debut

by Steve Gelsi

Obesity drug maker BioAge is up more than 20% after its IPO, while Texas-based Barnett Shale driller BKV is seeing more modest growth

Obesity drug company BioAge Labs Inc. gained about 20% after its initial public offering Thursday, while natural gas producer BKV Inc. rose slightly from its IPO price of $18.

BioAge (BIOA) shares opened at $22.50 and recently changed hands at $21.96, above the IPO price of $18.

Shares of BKV (BKV) opened at $18.55 per share, above its own IPO price of $18, and were trading at $18.07 per share in the afternoon.

BKV is outside the IPO price range

Denver-based BKV’s initial public offering price is below the estimated $19-$21 range.

Natural gas producer Barnett Shale raised $270 million by offering 15 million shares to underwriters Citigroup, Barclays, Evercore ISI, Jefferies and Mizuho.

BKV CEO Christopher P. Kalnin was previously an executive at Level 3 Communications and former CEO of PTT Exploration, an oil and gas exploration company based in Thailand. He founded BKV in 2015.

Kalnin told MarketWatch he brought his technology expertise to found BKV, which launched as part of Thai energy giant Banpu’s (TH:BANPU) effort to set up shop in the U.S.

Following the sale of shares in the IPO, Banpu still holds approximately 76% of BKV shares.

Kalnin said that despite market volatility and uncertainty around the U.S. election, he thinks it’s a good time to go public.

“On the energy side, there is pent-up demand for IPOs,” he told MarketWatch.

Faced with falling interest rates and demand for natural gas to generate power for data centers, BKV found the current environment favorable for its IPO, Kalnin added.

Proceeds from the initial public offering will help the company build its balance sheet for acquisitions and capital projects, he said.

BKV differs from other natural gas producers in that it uses blockchain technology to manage carbon offsetting credits, as well as other practices that Kalnin said the company borrowed from the technology sector.

He also noted that he is focusing on developing gas drilling in energy basin areas where production declines last much longer than others.

BioAge Labs is trading at $18 per share

Richmond, California-based BioAge Labs (BIOA) priced 11 million shares at $18 each, the midpoint of the $17 to $19 price range.

The company raised $198 million from underwriters Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies and Citigroup.

BioAge describes itself as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing drugs for metabolic diseases such as obesity that target human aging.

Its lead product candidate is Azelaprag, an obesity drug currently in Phase 1 trials for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

-Steve Gelsi

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

26/09/24 14:15 ET