Lyft share price grows by 20% on stock market IPO first day
The American ride-hailing firm Lyft launched on the stock market and saw share price rise by over 20% in the first few minutes of trading.
The company had hoped to put more than 30 million shares up for sale going into launch and anticipated demand would price them at roughly $72 each. However, within minutes of trading the shares the price had risen to $87.24 but dropped down to $78.02 by the end of the day.
Lyft beat their global rivals Uber to flotation on the markets, however Uber are widely expected to join the stock market race by listing in April. According to Wall Street bankers speaking to The Times the listing from Uber could reach a value $120 billion. The two American rivals will be soon pitching for shareholder cash and experts say that the first to float, Lyft in this case, usually gains a boost by benefitting from “pent-up demand”. The expectations from Uber to achieve a $120 billion valuation comes despite the global minicab firm never having made a profit. According to The Times the firm have so far made a loss of $3.3 billion.
