Debuting Biocartis

The €100 million ($107.8 million) IPO by Biocartis Group N.V. (Euronext:BCART) isn't settling the question of whether European biotechs should look at home or to the U.S. for capital, but the molecular diagnostics company's strong performance since its debut suggests staying local can have advantages.

Biocartis' opening day reception - a €1.50 (13%) pop to €13 on April 27 - stands in contrast to the most recent batch of NASDAQ IPOs. Four of six biotechs that went public last week traded down on their NASDAQ debuts. The two gainers had single-digit percentage gains...