AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin area aerospace company Firefly rang in its Nasdaq debut Thursday morning, its official mark of going public.
Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim rang the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square during a ceremony, symbolizing the company’s transition from private to public as it began trading under the ticker symbol “FLY.”
“Firefly was founded with the bold vision of making space for everyone,” Kim said. “Today, we mark a historic milestone toward reaching that bold vision as we go public.”
CNBC reported that Firefly Aerospace jumped more than 50% in its Nasdaq debut on Thursday after pricing shares above its expected range.
The Austin Business Journal reported earlier this week that the company had already increased the share pricing for its initial public offering (IPO) from $35-39 per share to $41-43 per share, citing a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The stock opened at $70 per share, and shares wound up going for as high as $71.16 a piece, according to Reuters.
“This IPO is one of the most historic space IPOs ever and will continue to enhance Firefly’s ability to deliver on high-stakes critical missions,” Kim said during the bell ringing ceremony.
Nasdaq streamed the ceremony live and showed a view of a crowd of hundreds of people who gathered north of Austin at Firefly’s headquarters, AKA Rocket Ranch, to watch the IPO go live.
According to the ABJ’s reporting, Rachel Racz, Nasdaq’s head of listings for Texas, the southern U.S. and Latin America, said Nasdaq has had 171 IPOs this year already, but this one “stood out because of the company’s enthusiasm and what it signals for other companies that may be exploring going public.”
Firefly is the third aerospace company to go public this following Voyager Technology and Karman Holdings, per CNBC.
Reuters reported that Firefly’s IPO was the largest U.S. listing by a space tech firm this year.
The MarketSite also featured a special exhibition of Firefly’s historic Moon lander, which became the first commercially built spacecraft to successfully land on the moon earlier this year.
Firefly was also recently awarded a $177 million NASA contract for a mission to the moon’s south pole.