Glossary
Quiet Period
A pre- and post-IPO window in which company communications are restricted to avoid biasing investors.
The quiet period describes two distinct windows. Before an IPO, federal securities law restricts what the issuer and its insiders can say publicly so that investors are not influenced by communications outside the prospectus. After pricing, a separate research-quiet period restricts the underwriters' analysts from publishing research on the company; this typically lasts 25 days for IPOs.
Violations — for example, an interview with the CEO that is read as 'gun-jumping' — can delay the offering or trigger a cooling-off period.