Alibaba-Backed EV Maker Xpeng Shoots Up 41% On NYSE Debut After $1.5B IPO

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc's XPEV stock performed extremely well in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

What Happened: The company’s ADRs were on an uptick for the first half of the trading day and peaked at a high price of $25.

By the end of the market hours, XPEV was quoting $21.22, 41.4% higher than its IPO price. Xpeng raised close to $1.5 billion proceeds in its IPO.

Five years since incorporation, the Chinese company decided to issue over 99.7 million American Depository Shares (ADS) through NYSE. The IPO was originally priced between $11 to $13 per share. However a day before the IPO, the company announced that it would issue these shares at $15 per share.

Right from the time the opening bell rang, the stock maintained a consistent upward momentum till 1 pm. After gaining almost 67% by mid-day, the stock finally receded in the last three hours of trading hours.

Why It Matters:  Xpeng is already being pitted against well-established electric car companies like Tesla Inc. TSLA.

The Chinese company has partnered with Blackberry Ltd. BB to incorporate the mobile manufacturer’s automotive operating system to power Xpeng7.

The level 3 autonomous vehicle will deploy the IPU-03 autonomous driving domain controller by Blackberry.

With the increasing popularity and visible support from federal and state governments, electric car companies have more growth opportunities.

Price Action: In the after-market hours, Xpeng gained an additional 2.73% at $21.80.

Photo courtesy: Jengtingchen via Wikimedia