(Reuters) – Shares of online brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc were set to start trading nearly 11% above their offer price on the Nasdaq, underscoring a warm reception to one of the most hotly anticipated listings of the year.
At 10:10 am ET on Thursday, the shares were indicated to open at $42 each compared to the initial public offering (IPO)price of $38. At that price, the brokerage would be valued at $35 billion.
The company, arguably the breakout financial technology startup of its generation, priced its IPO on Wednesday at the lower end of its $38 to $42 range and raised $2.1 billion.
Robinhood’s long-awaited debut come months after it found itself at the center of a confrontation between a new generation of retail investors and Wall Street hedge funds in late January.
The online brokerage enraged some investors and U.S. lawmakers earlier this year when it restricted trading in some popular stocks following a tenfold rise in deposit requirements at its clearinghouse.
It has also been at the center of many regulatory probes.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
