Nkarta boosts what it can raise from IPO to up to $221 million

Nkarta Inc. increased the number of shares it will sell in its initial public offering, and the expected pricing also rose, to boost what the San Franciso-based biopharmaceutical company could raise to up to $221 million. The company is now offering 13 million shares, and the IPO is expected price between $16 and $17 a share. Previously, the company was expecting to raise up to $160 million by offering 10 million shares and with the IPO expected to price between $14 and $16 a share. With 29.43 million shares to be outstanding after the IPO, the company could be valued at $500.3 million. Cowen, Evercore ISI, Stifel and Mizuho Securities are the joint bookrunning managers of the IPO. The stock is expected to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "NKTX." Nkarta is looking to go public at a time that the Renaissance IPO ETF has soared 61.7% over the past three months, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has climbed 23.6% and the S&P 500 has advanced 13.6%.

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