Moelis & Co.'s shares opened higher in their trading debut,
after an initial public offering that priced below the New York
investment bank's expectations.
The shares held the gains in early trading, after opening at
$27, up 8% from the company's $25 IPO offer price.
Moelis sold 6.5 million shares in its debut, raising $162.5
million before the potential sale of additional shares by
underwriters. The sale fell short of the company's projection to
sell 7.3 million shares for $26 to $29 each, according to a
regulatory filing.
The lackluster pricing follows a pullback in U.S. stocks in
recent weeks, particularly in shares of many newly public
companies. IPOs have still been getting done this week, but all
five U.S.-listed debuts to price since the weekend have seen
investors offer a lower per-share price than the companies had
expected.
Demand for shares of newly listed companies has suffered
alongside the past month's selloff in certain parts of the market,
such as high-growth technology and biotechnology stocks.
Shares of the so-called investment banking boutiques that
closely resemble Moelis haven't escaped the selling. Evercore
Partners Inc.'s shares fell 17% this year through Tuesday while
Lazard Ltd. declined 2.4%. They are up 31% and 29% the past 12
months, respectively, well ahead of the S&P 500's 17%
advance.
Moelis listed on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday under the
symbol "MC." Goldman Sachs Group Inc. led the offering with Morgan
Stanley.
Write to Matt Jarzemsky at matthew.jarzemsky@wsj.com
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