Chinese fintech company Qudian spikes nearly 40 percent in IPO
- The stock is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol QD.
- The Chinese fintech company is backed by Alibaba and posted a 2016 net income of $85 million.
- Shares priced at $24 in the $900 million IPO and opened at $34.35.
Chinese fintech company Qudian jumped nearly 40 percent on its opening day of trading on the NYSE Wednesday.
Shares priced at $24 in the $900 million IPO, above the expected range of $19 to $22. The 37.5 million offering of American Depository Shares makes it one of the largest U.S.-listed floats by a Chinese company this year with a reported valuation of $7.9 billion.
Shares opened at $34.35. The company trades under the ticker symbol QD.
The Alibaba-backed company provides short-term microloans through its mobile app to China’s young workers who are looking for extra cash to be able to afford things like premium-priced apparel or concert tickets.
The virtual lender offers personalized credit as low as the equivalent of $100, CEO Min Luo told CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” after the opening trade. A growing user base and low delinquency rates allow the company to lend at relatively low risk and collect “really big data,” Luo said.
In 2016, the company posted net income of about $85 million on total revenue of $212.8 million. In the six months that ended June 30 of this year, revenue was $270.4 million and net income came in at $143.6 million, according to Qudian.
Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, CICC and UBS are joint book runners for the IPO.
