Uber priced its shares at $45 at its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday for a valuation of $82.4 billion, Reuters reported. The company raised $8.1 billion, pricing its IPO at $45 per share from the targeted pricing range between $44 and $50 per share.
Lyft’s shares lost more than 20 percent of their value after its IPO. The Uber IPO valuation is quite below expectations especially since it was the most anticipated IPO since Facebook’s. According to Reuters, the Uber’s IPO valuation is nearly a third less than the figure its investment bankers had anticipated last year.
Alex Castelli, managing partner at advisory firm CohnReznick, said, “Ultimately, the success of Lyft and Uber IPO’s offerings will be judged based on post-IPO performance and how these companies can sustain their growth, while moving toward profitability and lowering their cash burn.”
After Lyft’s IPO fluctuations in late March Uber has settled for a lower price in order to avoid being mired in a situation where prices rose and plunged in trade. Despite that, many analysts believe that Uber’s IPO was oversubscribed.
Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in meeting with investors over the last two weeks said that the company’s future is not simply focused on ride-sharing, but as an advanced technology platform revamping logistics and transportation.
The company is due to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the name UBER.