Cowen vs. Leerink?

Hi All

I'm graduating from a semi-target in December, pre-med major, 3.5+ GPA. I'm wondering if anyone could share some thoughts on Cowen Healthcare and Leerink in terms of prestige, deal flow(# and size), and exit opportunities?

Obviously I'm interested in Healthcare IB. I know Cowen is a top boutique but having trouble with their HC group. However, I've never heard of Leerink until recently but I was told they are comparable to a typical HC group in a BB, is this true?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated,

Thanks.

14 Comments
 

Leerink has essentially restructured their banking division in the last few years:

  • Poached a team from BAML, let a lot of the legacy bankers go
  • Moved banking HQ from Boston to NY

They've been on an upswing lately (winning some decent mandates, first lead left, etc.) but there is still a long way to go before you could consider them like a HC group of a bulge.

Don't think they're hiring except to fill holes (they have a lot of deal capacity).

 

stay away from cowen hc - i have heard from several ex-employees that the place is falling apart. lots of people trying to hit the door

 
Best Response

Leerink is a great healthcare bank, but from what I know, they are still mostly engaged in co-managed deals only, as opposed to Jefferies, Piper Jaffray, the few of the MM firms that strive to do bookrun deals for middle market transactions.

if you think co-managed and bookrun deals don't matter, feel free to ask anyone in the industry. Banks have turned down deals because they refuse to be co-managers to certain banks due to fear of setting a precedence, even though by being a co-manager, you're just in for the ride, and don't really need to do much work since you're not running the deal.

 

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