How to track upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs)

Planning to join in an upcoming initial public offering (IPO) and become the shareholder of a company? We try and explain here how you can keep track of all the upcoming IPOs.

An initial public offering is the first time a company sells its shares to the general public. In an IPO, a private company goes public and its shares get listed on the stock exchanges. To be able to invest in an IPO, you need to be aware of all the companies that may be planning a listing soon and details of the share issue. There are a few ways by which you can keep track of the same.

There is the option of using the website of stock exchanges like NSE and BSE to stay informed about an upcoming IPO. Both the BSE and the NSE have dedicated sections for live and upcoming IPOs. On the BSE website, you can visit the 'Public Issues' tab on the homepage menu bar. You will be redirected to the page that contains details pertaining to live public issues as well as forthcoming ones. The same is available on the NSE website under the 'Market Data' tab on the homepage.

Next comes the most common source of information about the IPO, which is the news. Business news portals, especially digital platforms, are usually very prompt with reporting about the major upcoming IPOs. There are many business and finance news portals with markets research expertise that carry all the information pertaining to an IPO. A scroll through the latest business news headlines is also a good way to stay informed.

The website of your brokerage/broking house could also be another source of information on all ongoing and forthcoming public issues. You can visit the IPO sub-section on the homepage of ICICIdirect to get IPO-related updates. You can conveniently invest in an upcoming IPO via your online broker. All you need to do is provide necessary details and place an order.

To stay ahead and informed, investors should keep a track of all that is about to happen in the IPO bazaar. The idea is to use all available information to make the best out of the opportunity presented by an upcoming IPO. More and more investors are drifting towards the appeal of IPOs in the hopes of generating good returns. The year gone by has seen investors in India gripped by the IPO fever. Many big names across sectors went public in the year 2020, which created a flurry of interest among investors. Hence, many are keeping an eye on the market sentiment to gauge the opportunity in the IPO segment this year.