NEW YORK - New York Mercantile Exchange shares debuted at $120 - more than double their expected price - and continued climbing Friday as the commodity futures exchange ended its 134-year run as a private company.
Nymex Holdings Inc. had priced 6.5 million shares at $59 a piece on Thursday after the market closed, ahead of its previously projected range of $54 to $57. The shares then opened at $120, soared past $150 then came down to about $138 in morning trading.
The company, whose market is famous for its raucous, open-outcry trading of oil and gold futures, raised $293.1 million after underwriting discounts and commissions, but before expenses. Selling stockholders made about $65.5 million on the IPO.
At $138 a share, it would have a market capitalization of about $12 billion.
The stock lists under the ticker symbol NMX on the New York Stock Exchange.
The debut of Nymex shares had been much-anticipated by investors who have witnessed the stellar IPOs of rival exchanges in recent years.
Shares of IntercontinentalExchange Inc. closed up 51 percent from the $26 IPO price on Nov. 16. Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. shares jumped 23 percent on the first day of trading in December 2002, while Chicago Board of Trade Holdings Inc. saw its shares surge 49 percent after their debut in October 2005.
David Easthope, an analyst with Boston-based Securities and Investments Group, said Nymex shares likely popped "on frothy expectations, takeover possibilities and just hype right now."
"Retail speculation tends to be high when there's been a pattern of successful IPOs in a sector," he said. "The word gets out that exchanges have been popping on the first day."
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