Updated, 5:37 p.m. |
Shares of Markit, the big financial data provider, opened on Thursday above their initial public offering price, as investors proved eager for a piece of the newly public company.
Markit’s stock opened at $26.15, about 9 percent above the I.P.O. price. The shares closed up on Thursday at $26.70, up 11.3 percent on the day.
“This was the culmination of many months of hard work,” Lance Uggla, Markit’s founder and chief executive, said by telephone. “I think the result is some great brand recognition.”
The data provider has become an important part of the financial markets over its 11 years of existence, particularly because of the indexes it has created that track the performance of complex instruments like credit-default swaps. Such is the centrality of its offerings that it has been backed by some of the world’s biggest banks, including 12 of its 15 underwriters.
But Markit itself did not sell any stock, Mr. Uggla said, because the company remains financially strong.
Though it made its name with its index businesses, Markit intends to continue growing its portfolio of offerings aimed at providing more transparency and reducing risk, he added. With banks’ increasing emphasis on complying with risk regulations, the firm’s services will become even more important.
The company now trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol MRKT.
Markit was the biggest of eight companies to price I.P.O.s this week, one of the busiest in recent months as would-be debutantes seek to take advantage of rising stock markets. Next week could prove even busier, as some better-known names – including GoPro, the maker of the immensely popular portable video cameras adored by athletes – prepare to start trading.