Bats Exchange Gets Its IPO Off Right The Second Time, Well Almost

BATS Global Markets Inc. BATS shares debuted in Friday's and are trading $3.83 above its offering price. It is the company's seconds attempt to IPO its own stock, with the first culminating in an unmitigated disaster. The March 23, 2012 IPO of BATS was brief to say the least. The began trading at 11:14:18.436 AM with an initial price pf $15.25. Within 900 milliseconds from the opening the stock price had fallen to $0.2848. Not exactly, the kind of introduction an exchange that caters to the high frequency trading world wanted to have. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTgIXL4yeCs Whether or not it was a mechanical failure or simple a lack of liquidity being provided the underwriters, the end result was same. Whatever the problem was, it has taken the exchange just over four years to get it right, almost. Any short-term trader or long term investors of an IPO, the opening print is very significant. The reason being for a short-term of an IPO it will assist the trader in devising a strategy for the day. For a longer term investors, that wants to accumulate a larger position, the true actual opening print will be used to help determine to how to accumulate this potion. According to Brent Slava, Senior Research Analyst at Benzinga, multiple outlets reported a different opening price. This may be partially explained by the uncertainty surrounding the opening print as Benzinga's confidantes for updates were limited. Whereas, the Think or Swim platform reported $22,66, another source reported $22.83, Dow Jones New Service reported the correct opening print of $22.88. Shortly after the open, the issue sprinted to $23,38, but then quickly fell to $22.40 before staging a rebound. At this time, the issue is vacillating above and below print, now that is known, will be compared to future closes to help determine the long-term direction of the issue.