Qualtrics’ shares have jumped more than 45% in its trading debut after the company sold 51.7 million shares on Thursday night in an initial public offering. It managed to raise more than $1.5 billion.
The shares were priced at $30 per share. Listed under the ticker symbol XM, the company shares are currently trading above $43.
The IPO funding total of $1.5 billion could rise more if the underwriters activate their over-allotment option.
J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and other financial institutions that managed the listing could collectively buy more than 7 million more shares at the opening price, minus commissions and discounts.
How the company got here
Qualtrics’ journey to the stock market has not been as straightforward as some of the other tech firms that went public. The company’s original plan was to stage an IPO in late 2018 before it was acquired at the last minute by SAP SE.
Qualtrics said in its regulatory filing for the offering that SAP would continue to be the controlling stakeholder after the stock sale.
The company offers value through a cloud-based platform that companies use to collect feedback from stakeholders. HR departments rely on it to ask employees about opinions on various relevant topics.
Qualtrics’ wide reach
The company’s platform is used by more than 12,000 organizations globally, including IBM, BMW, and other big companies. 1 out of 10 of these companies pays Qualtrics about $100,000 every year.
The company disclosed in the IPO filing that revenue during the 12 months ending September 30th reached 723 million on all customer accounts. That was a 36% rise from the previous year.
The strong IPO enjoyed by the company is a good sign for other enterprise software companies that may have the same goal in mind.
Tip: SAP merges operational and experiential data; design is ongoing