IPOs Hit 4-Year High In Q2 As U.S. Economy Firmed; Is The Drought Over At Last?; Medicals lead and techs make a reappearance; the pipeline also is filling.(A)

Byline: BRIAN DEAGON

The number of companies going public surged to a four-year high in the second quarter, as investors and venture capitalists grew more confident in the strong economic and jobs recovery.

According to several research firms, medical and biotech IPOs continued to lead, with tech IPOs rebounding.

"The IPO market is a reflection of what's going on at the cutting edge of the economy," said Linda Killian, portfolio manager for the IPO Plus Aftermarket Fund at Renaissance Capital. "The increased IPO activity means increased economic activity because almost every company going public is going to be adding jobs."

Most IPOs, Filings Since 2000

There were 51 IPOs in the second quarter, raising $8.8 billion, compared with just two in the same quarter a year ago. There have been 83 IPOs this year and 145 in the past four quarters. If trends continue, said Killian, the IPO market will finally get back to its historical average of about 250 a year.

Something similar occurred in the early '70s, the last period of an IPO drought.