2021 Q3: Markets Continue to Shine
- Despite headwinds from an uptick in COVID-19 cases due to the surge of the delta variant, the third quarter continued 2021’s trend of robust M&A activity and strong public equity performance across sectors. Investors in both the private and public markets remain bullish, with early Q4 signs indicating that strong performance will continue, ending the year on a high note.
- Total announced M&A transactions in Q3 took a slight step back from Q2’s record highs, but remained strong, up 17% over Q3 of 2020, and 21% from 2020’s quarterly average. With potential changes to capital gains tax rates still a possibility, business owners continue to aggressively seek to pursue sale transactions. This, paired with significant acquisition interest from both private equity investors as well as strategic acquirers has led to both the active transaction market as well as attractive valuations for sellers across sectors.
- During the year to date, PMCF’s four Medical Technology indices have all seen solid growth, though they were buffeted by a market wide sell-off at the end of the third quarter. Cardiovascular Medical Devices was the strongest performing sector through three quarters, up 12.8% on the year, just above the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed up 12.0% and behind the benchmark S&P 500 Growth Index which finished up 17.6%.
