MuleSoft, which helps businesses like Netflix and Spotify with their APIs, closed at $24.75, a 46% premium to its IPO price of $17. This was after pricing above the expected range of $14 to $16.
The company was able to raise $221 million in the IPO, but they could have raised a lot more if they priced it at $20. Bankers usually aim for 20-30% “pop” on the first day to start off on good terms with the stock market. If the company prices it too low that means they left “money on the table.”
This sounds a lot like Snap, which also priced above the range at $17 and went up almost as much on the first day of trading. But just two weeks later, Snap has already fallen beneath $20.
It’s mainly institutional investors and high net-worth individuals with friendly relationships with the underwriting banks who got access at $17, as is the standard with IPOs. MuleSoft opened today at $24.25, so the $24.75 close means that ordinary investors saw pretty small gains.
MuleSoft went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker “MULE.” This is another win for the NYSE, after getting Snap’s listing.
MuleSoft had $187.7…