Wall Street is hardly a beauty pageant. But a new study suggests that when it comes to taking a company public, appearances can matter.

The more a chief executive's gestures and manners exude competence during investor pitch sessions, the more likely he or she is to have a higher-priced IPO, according to the study conducted by Elizabeth Blankespoor of Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, Bradley Hendricks of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Gregory Miller of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.