SurveyMonkey jumps about 60% after upsized market debut

Survey software maker SurveyMonkey had a dream debut at Wall Street Wednesday when it opened about 60% higher than the IPO price. The company had raised its IPO price to $12 per share, above the mid-point of the range initially estimated, to start trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SVMK. Soon after opening, the stock gained sharply and traded above $19.

The company, the latest among the medium-to-large US enterprises to take the IPO route in recent times, entered the public realm offering 15 million shares, raising about $180 million. The size of the offering was increased from 13.5 million shares announced earlier. The market has closely tracked the IPO since it was announced a couple of months ago.

The market capitalization of SVMK, the parent of SurveyMonkey, is currently estimated at $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, some experts believe the valuation is too high considering the company’s high debt and below-average growth.

The company had raised its IPO price to $12 per share, above the mid-point of the range estimated initially

The unimpressive rating on SVMK is expected to improve in the coming days, considering its comparatively moderate losses. The survey and questionnaire expert’s single class share structure would give shareholders the right to vote on matters related to corporate governance. One of the highlights of the IPO is to have raised $40 million from the finance division of tech firm Salesforce (CRM).

The primary stakeholders include Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook (FB), and Tiger Global Management. SVMK, which has more than half a million subscribed users, registered a more extensive net loss in the first half of the current fiscal year, despite a 14% revenue growth.

What is happening in the IPO market?

Like in the case of the other tech firms who made their Wall Street debut recently, the two-decade-old SurveyMonkey suffered a valuation slump and had to settle for a level that was 40% below the valuation it gained about four years ago.

Last week, online luxury retailer Farfetch (FTCH) made its market debut with a significantly high valuation. On the first day, the stock traded about 40% above the IPO price of $20 a share.

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