Nearly 40% of IPO firms redact information from their SEC registration filings. These firms exhibit characteristics consistent with the need to shield proprietary information from potential rivals. They experience greater underpricing, but pre-IPO insiders reduce underpricing-related wealth...

We compare firms that go public using penny stock initial public offerings (PSIPOs) to those using reverse mergers (RMs). Firms using RMs tend to be highly information asymmetric in contrast with the existing going public theory. Firms tend to opt for the RM path with the intent to acquire a...

We study “At-The-Market” (ATM) equity offerings, which are direct share issuances sold in the secondary market that forgo underwriters and “dribble-out” shares over time rather than raising them all at once. Enabled in 2008, their use has increased dramatically, and in 2016 their...