Credit: CNBC
The gamblers were running amok today. Reuters:
Shares of A123 Systems, a maker of lithium-ion car batteries, had the second-best debut of any 2009 U.S. initial public offering, rising 50.3 percent in their first trading session, far outpacing the four other stocks that came to market on a particularly busy day for IPOs.
[. . .]
After starting at a 25.9 percent premium to their IPO price, A123 shares closed the day at $20.29 on the NASDAQ in a performance reminiscent of the frothy IPO market of a decade ago, given the company has never made a profit.
[. . .]
Investors were drawn to A123 because every major global automaker has plans to bring electric vehicles to the market in the next two to three years, said ThinkEquity analyst Michael Lew, who monitors the energy storage sector.
“It’s a long-term play on the lithium-ion space,” Lew added.
Lew also said the warm reception of the IPO would encourage other clean technology companies to tap the public markets.