Fundamental factors and the level of underpricing

Abstract

Underpricing has been the subject of substantial research at a global scale and has been thoroughly described in the literature, but it is still unclear what factors influence its level in the Polish capital market, particularly in the context of fundamental factors. Since investors have very limited information of the companies going public, the companies must convey or signal information that can be used for valuing their shares. The aim of the article is to identify the impact of a company’s fundamental factors on the level of underpricing of an initial public offering. The research is based on the sample of 227 companies debuting in the regulated market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange between 2005 and 2022. The empirical analysis and regression results estimation were based on the data coming from prospectuses of the companies going public. To prepare the econometric linear regression model, the stepwise forward variable selection procedure was carried out. The evidence indicates that underpricing is significantly affected by a few financial variables, such as assets, ROA, BVS, and EPS.